In Favor of Vulnerability
by LolitaLaLa
Summary: "If you treat me like a human, like I am someone you don't hate - and that means you take me out, you abide by my weird needs to eat strange foods, you 'befriend' me... Shizuo, if you do all that for just one week, I promise I will let you kill me."
1. Chapter 1

_**Weeelll, this is an RP fanfic, for those who don't know what that is (although I'm sure most do), it is when my RP buddy, controls one character, whilst I control the other – together we create a story by complete trial and error. RP fanfic is pretty much complete improv. It's a lot of fun! **_

_**In this particular RP, we only just recently began to develop a proper storyline, at first it will seem a bit edgy. However, later on, the actual purpose of it will be apparent. Guh – I'm seriously not sure what this should be rated! To be honest, I think with me being me (can not live without smutt in any RP) will want to do a smutt scene later on down the track, but the truth is it's completely up to my RP buddy whether that is done or not hhuhuhu. Anyway, enjoy, bare with the lameness of the start (at Izaya's part). Oh, one more thing, not that it really matters. My buddy RP's as Shizu-chan, whilst I RP as Izaya. There will be a '-' break in between each post, and for whoever cares to review, we get through maybe one or two posts a day each, so I think I'll fit perhaps four posts on a chapter at once, means I'll be updating ever four days – I won't waste time~!**_

_**Enjoy ^0^**_

Izaya walked through the streets of Ikebukuro, he muttered against the cool breeze of early afternoon that he was definitely only in that weird town for business. He compromised his thoughts outwardly, sticking his hands in his pockets, staring straight ahead with that smirk he always wore. In a way it acted like a total defense mechanism, this wall Izaya put up. In other ways, it was a daily activity, and only when he was in solitude would he drop his farce. However, as Izaya stopped as Izaya walked past Russian Sushi and engorged in the memories he'd had in this town, he stopped smirking for a moment, and ducked into a near-by alley. Why? That brute was there. Izaya made sure to grip onto the handle of his Flick-blade before his composed himself and stepped out of the alley, giving Shizuo a condescending smirk, as he waited for the blonde to notice him.

Shizuo sighed as he took a drag from his cigarette. Currently, he was standing outside of Russia Sushi, watching Simon trying to persuade the people that walked pasted and didn't really notice him there. Even though the man towered over them like it was nothing. He doubted that they could actually understand him well since his Japanese was broken as well. Today was a slow day it seemed, and truthfully, Shizuo was starting to get really bored of watching people pass by. Needless to say, he really needed something to do. He was actually considering going to see what Shinra and Celty were doing since they always seemed to be doing something that caught his interest, if not a little. He stopped smoking and glanced out of the corner of his eye, seeing something vaguely familiar. His eyes darkened when they came across the one person that had made his life a living hell. "Izzaaayyaaa-kkuuunnn. Didn't I tell you to stay out of Ikebukuro!" A growl left his lips as he looked around for something to throw at him. Finding a stop sign, he ripped it out of the ground and launching it in Izaya's direction.

Izaya mused at Shizuo's predictable behavior. You see, Izaya would be lying if he said he didn't keep coming back to Ikebukuro repeatedly for anything but this, it made him feel energized surprisingly after ruining people's lives all day. The brunette stopped walking and 'tched', sending a shrug in Shizuo's direction before easily dodging the sign lofted towards him, he whipped out his Flick-blade from his pocket and sprung forward, already going into a full-frontal attack. However, today, Izaya realized himself the competition would be harder. Not for any reason other than: Izaya was growing tired of his life. Day in and day out, he did the same things, talked to the same people. Of course, people never bored him. Izaya would never say a word against his lovely humans, however, lately; a lot of them had been pretty stupid. A lot of them had changed. So, to speed up the pace, Izaya came to challenge Shizuo as always, Shizuo never came to him. He was glad at least one thing hadn't changed, so to speak, fighting with Shizuo was slowly becoming the only thing that Izaya looked forward to.

Shizuo hated how smug Izaya looked about everything. How it seemed so easy for him to dodge the stop sign that was hurling at him at full speed. Why did it have to be someone so clever and sly that became his enemy, when it could have been someone dumb and boring? They he could easily dispose of them and move on with his life, never being annoyed by them again. Then again, the more he thought about it, the more he came to not wanting to really do it. Whenever he was bored Izaya was there, and it helped him vent things out. A lot more than others would. The 'normal' ones would just run in fear as soon as he turns the corner. Shizuo dropped his cigarette and threw it to the ground, stomping on it in the process of grabbing another sign and blocking Izaya's attempt to cut him. Then there was Izaya, the abnormal one that always came looking for a fight. Even though Shizuo hated violence, he didn't mind taking any anger out on the flea. It actually has helped him a lot.

_**There you have it ! ^u^. I'll try to update depending on who wants it. But it seems like a big waste of time otherwise. But the storyline and main plot will come later, as in the summary. Have a nice day~!**_


	2. Chapter 2

Izaya stepped back as his attack was blocked, he inwardly congratulated Shizuo, outwardly, he wore that sly smirk and he sighed, before shoving his hands back into his pockets and giving a casual shrug; "I don't really feel like fighting today, Shizu-chan."

He didn't know how Shizuo would react to this; he couldn't read the man at all once they got into things. All Izaya knew was that though the brute hated violence, Heiwajima Shizuo would never back down from a fight with him. Izaya just stood there, hardly wearing his inner emotions on his sleeve yet still fearing for the fact that at that moment Izaya kind of felt as if he were giving in. As if to make it clear he wasn't, he shrugged it off like it wasn't unusual at all that he wouldn't fight back, and instead he just stood there, waiting. For anything.

Shizuo's eyes narrowed as he watched all of Izaya's moves. One could never put their guard down around someone like him, and he wasn't going to be dumb enough to try it. He would never put his guard down around Izaya, even if he was nowhere near him. If Shizuo knew that Izaya was anywhere near him, then he would keep his guard up until he knew that the area was cleared. "Like I'm going to believe that shit!" He kept the sign clutched in his hand, making sure that he was ready for anything that the flea would try to throw at him. "If you're not here to fight, then why the hell are you here in the first place?" He glanced around to make sure that there weren't any gangs that Izaya might have hired to sneak up on him.

Izaya simply let out a sarcastic laugh and shook his head; "Oh... Shizu-chan don't be so sure of yourself! I'm here on business; for no other reason would I set foot in this town."

Well, if that wasn't the biggest lie he'd ever told.

Izaya desperately wanted just to turn around and walk off, to avoid Shizuo's gaze, subconsciously he thought about doing so, which caused Izaya to bite on his lip to suppress a stray cringe and then immediately looked down. Oh, shit. He had just shown weakness- and by looking down, he was definitely NOT making it any better. Izaya looked up again and raised his eyebrows at Shizuo; "I'm telling the truth. If you'll be so kind as to put that sign down, I'll leave Ikebukuro and do something that's actually worth my time."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow at Izaya, his posture relaxing just a little when he saw that Izaya actually wasn't being a threat at the moment. It confused him a lot, and he was starting to think that maybe Izaya was on something, because this wasn't how he usually acted around him. His grip on the sign loosened at bit when he saw Izaya show a sign of weakness. Now he was starting to get curious. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He took a couple of steps closer to Izaya and looked him up and down, trying to find something wrong. It wasn't every day that Izaya looked so weak.

_**The funny thing about RP fanfics, is because it's been hours, it seems like a hell of a long time for the writers, but for the characters and readers it could have been less than a few seconds. Which is probably why it got into things kind of quick. But I think it's best for the lengthy plot that we're doing to start the story with a vulnerable Izaya rather than have to build up to that. It'd be a very, very long RP. Anyway, there's more, but only if you want it ^0^**_


	3. Chapter 3

At every step Shizuo took forward, Izaya took gradually back, and to his own disgust as Shizuo looked him up and down, Izaya turned away - why? He was self-conscious. Now he knew he'd finally gone crazy - the day he actually cared what the monster thought of him. Izaya narrowed his eyes at Shizuo, not angrily, just enough to get his point across. However his voice came out a lot harsher than it usually would. "Nothing is WRONG with me, Shizuo. Rather, everything is right, isn't it? I'm in a one-sided love, always have been."

'I'm talking about the love for my dear humans,' Izaya thought as he realized Shizuo's pee-brain may think something else; 'Don't get the wrong idea.'

He snickered as he turned and began to walk away, inwardly cursing at himself. Why was he so trivial at the best of times...

Shizuo could defiantly tell that something was wrong with the information gather now. It was surprising to see Izaya back away from him while he tried to get closer. He even turned away. Shizuo was more curious then ever as to what was going on in the head of Izaya Orihara. It was actually getting a bit frustrating with how weird Izaya was acting. Before Izaya could get away Shizuo grabbed his arm and pulled him back, a smirk on his face. "Tch. Don't tell me someone put you in your place." He was starting think that maybe someone had put him in his place before Shizuo had the chance to, even if he did seem like he was back to his annoying self. Though, somehow the thought of Izaya being in a one sided love with someone was unacceptable in his mind. Shizuo quickly pushed that thought aside. "Finally got a taste of your own medicine, flea?"

Izaya widened his eyes as he felt himself snap back towards Shizuo, as the brute gripped tightly onto his arm. Izaya was sure not even Shizuo was aware at his own strength at this point in time. He winced and then took a deep breath; "Sh-Shizu-chan! Let me go!"

Letting out a fake chuckle Izaya tried to pry himself from the grip. Eventually he gave up squirming and just looked at Shizuo, smiling sadly; "No-one has put me in my place... Actually, I put myself in my own place. Let me go, Shizzy. I want to go home."

Shizuo looked a bit confused when he noticed how weak and out of character Izaya was acting right now. It caught him off guard to say the least. He noticed Izaya wince and his grip actually did loosen up when he heard how shaky Izaya sounded. "What the..." Shizuo was really wondering what was up with Izaya, and strangely, he was beginning to feel bad. He was stubborn though, and wasn't going to give up that easily. "Izaya...what's wrong?" Shizuo's voice went from loud and harsh to calm and leveled as he tried to coax Izaya to explain himself.

Izaya once again tried to loosen himself from Shizuo's inhumane grip, however when he heard Shizuo sound almost like he possibly cared, Izaya froze. His crimson eyes raised and he set them to bore straight into Shizuo, as he glared a thousand daggers; "What would it benefit to you if you knew, Shizuo? You'd let me go, I'd run back to Shinjuku, and we'd continue like we always do. I'm sure you're simply curious and you don't actually give a shit."

Izaya was mentally screaming at himself, why was he partially having a breakdown? And why in front of Shizuo for god's sake! He had never let himself go, he had never let that voice inside his head get the best of him. Not when he was in front of any of his precious humans. Not that Izaya could even call Shizuo human, anyway. He softened his glare, stopping himself from acting this way, he let that fake, that very, very, fake smirk play at his lips as he grinned again, straightening himself up; "Or... does Shizu-chan actually care? Oh, how cute! Well, I do appreciate your concern Shizu-chan but I would rather not to tell you. I don't think that little brain in your big protozoan head would grip it very well."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow at Izaya's comment, slowly becoming confused with him. Right now he was being a big ball of emotions and it was really causing Shizuo to question his sanity more then he usually does. Shizuo was actually kind of taken back by the sudden glare that he received from the flea. He sent him his own glare and let out at small grunt. "Tch, what are you talking about?" He didn't know why, but he actually did care about what was happening to Izaya to make him act like he was right now, but he was starting to think that Izaya finally realized that maybe his 'lovely humans' didn't love him like he loved them. His sick twisted game of a one sided love was ruined and he finally couldn't find anything to entertain him anymore, so he decided to confuse the shit out of Shizuo with this nonsense. Shizuo growled lowly and pulled Izaya closer unconsciously. "Like hell I would care for an annoying flea like you!" He was really considering on punching Izaya now because of all the insults, but instead his eye twitched and he continued to glare at Izaya as he let go of him and pushed him away slightly. "Whatever, go ahead and go back to your trolling or whatever the hell you do before I decide to kill you here and now!"

Izaya backed up a little, a few steps, and stared at Shizuo forlornly for a split second. After he had analyzed and determined the truth from a lie in the unpredictable 'human', Izaya gave up and decided it was true. Not even Shizuo, the lowest of the lowest, cared. A few people had gathered to watch if the two would fight, however after witnessing what went on Izaya was embarrassed to admit that they had been rather shocked to see Shizuo shove Izaya away, and not only that, Izaya had shook as he dropped his flick-blade onto the floor and turned around, facing forward, his eyes not on anything in particular as he ran away from Shizuo.

'How unbelievably humiliating!' Izaya thought as he reached an alley and sat down against the wall. After all, what would he do? Go home and toy with peoples' minds? Bug Namie? Izaya thought for a moment that maybe he could use her to get rid of his pain, if he seduced her... but what good would that do? The woman was pretty, but she wasn't at all a fill in for the hole Izaya had in him, nor was she anything that crossed Izaya's mind more than once a day, in other words, not only would it be the worst lay of his life - it'd be boring.

Izaya just wanted something exciting to happen. In and out of hurting humans, toying with them, treating them as dolls, and adoring them... Izaya had grown to hate them.

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><p><em><strong>So cliché right now XD OH WELL~!<strong>_


	4. Chapter 4

A scowl made its way onto Shizuo's face as he watched Izaya basically scurry away from him. Why did it make him annoyed that Izaya was running so quickly away from him, and the fact that Shizuo wasn't throwing or chasing him at all yet he was still running was both confusing and irritating in a way. He would have chased after Izaya if it wasn't for the fact that his body was being stubborn and wouldn't let him move from his current spot to hunt the flea down and gain some information on what was going on with that guys screwed up brain. "Tch." Shizuo took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it quickly before taking a long drag of it, trying to calm his nerves. Though, when he saw the crowd of people still watching him, he growled and glared at them. "What the hell are you all doing here? Leave!" It didn't take more than 3 seconds for everyone to run away in terror. "Shizuo. Izaya drop this. You give it back." Simon chimed in as he picked up the flick-blade that had been discarded on the floor. After many attempts to try and weave out of the situation, Shizuo was forced to look for Izaya in order to return his weapon. "This is stupid and pointless." He muttered under his breath as he walked the streets of Ikebukuro.

Izaya looked at the people passing him. He was lucky to be clad in mostly black, as they didn't seem to notice his sulking so much. He analyzed them, he couldn't help it, after years and years it had gotten to his head. Judging people, determining their thoughts, moves, feelings, creating their expressions, watching them play out their daily lives. In fact, the only people Izaya wanted to be around now, would have to cease to be people at all. Perhaps he should be one of those humans who live with wolves? The thought actually crossed his mind, but Izaya dismissed it with a snicker. His mind was so focused on his feelings, that he didn't hear the footsteps that stopped right at his body. When he felt his personal space bubble be consumed he looked up to see a balding man in a jumpsuit of some sorts, he was glaring down at Izaya like he was actually approachable. But Izaya saw right through it, and he leaned his head against the wall; "You work for Shiki too, yes?"

He had seen this man in and out of work, even though Shiki dealt with his clients both differently and separately, he still saw the other lowlifes the man bossed around. He had been told time and time again that they were no match for him. And obviously this man had heard it too.

"I'm Yamasaki." The man raised his eyebrows.

Izaya was not in the mood for shit, so he blinked blankly up at 'Yamasaki', "...so?"

"SO - if I kill you, I'll get paid more, more for my family."

"You don't look like you could raise a flowerpot..."

"Shut the fuck up! Just listen - "

" - No, you just listen. If you want my job so bad, you can have it." Izaya shot daggers at the man with his brown-turned crimson eyes; "Go tell Shiki I said that. If he wants proof he can call me."

Yamasaki snickered before he hoisted something up in his throat, and spat at the floor beside Izaya, then proceeded to run off, proclaiming his happiness.

Izaya was in a different boat. 'They really hate you...' was what he kept telling himself. With that, he buried his head in his arms, propped them crossed up onto his knees and he actually began to cry, inwardly cursing himself. He felt pathetic.

Shizuo grumbled to himself as he looked around the streets to see if he could find Izaya anywhere. He didn't really see why he had to be the one to find Izaya since all they did was fight and argue over everything, then ruin half the town in under 3 minutes. Well, it was mostly Shizuo that started the fights, but in his mind Izaya deserved it for all the times he had tried to kill him just so that he wouldn't be bored. Shizuo lit another cigarette, maybe the fourth one in the last hour, and took a long puff out of it, trying to calm his nerves as he looked for the flea. The flick-blade was held in his hand loosely as he walked by an alleyway, only for a balding man to bump into him harshly.

"Watch were the hell-" The guy never got to finish his sentences because Shizuo had grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and spun around, throwing the guy in the direction he just came from. "I'm not in the fucking mood today!" The guy was sent flying across the street as Shizuo ran a hand threw his hair and sighed. "Bastards these days.." His attention was captured by a small sound in the alley way, causing him to peer down into it, seeing a hunched over figure that was shaking ever so softly. Upon closer inspection, he realized that that hunched over figure was Izaya, and by the sound of it he was crying. Shizuo's eyes widen slightly and the cigarette dropped out of his mouth. He had never seen Izaya looked so weak and helpless then he did now. For some reason, the image tugged roughly on his heart strings, causing him to grunt as he stomped out the cigarette on the floor and walked in front of Izaya, crouching down to get a better look at him. He couldn't think of anything to say, still in shock from seeing Izaya like this. So he just quietly watched him, unconsciously playing with the flick-blade in his hand.

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><p><strong><em>Okay, now we're getting a little OOC. But, it's temporary :)<em>**

**_Thank you for reading~ _**


	5. Chapter 5

Izaya was so swallowed up, so self-involved in his pity and sorrow that he did even notice the presence in front of him, he sniffled a few times before looking up, his eyes still swimming. Izaya couldn't make out anything, but he did feel a rather un-welcomed presence consume his personal space. He immediately wiped the tears away from his eyes and tried to back further up against the wall, Izaya dug his hand swiftly into his jacket-pocket only to be further disappointed when he couldn't feel his flick-blade. His eyes shot up to the person in front of him, and when he saw who it was, Izaya's heart either jumped to his throat - or sunk sickeningly slow, either way he felt sick. He didn't know what to say. Shizuo had seen him cry. Shizuo. The person he resented most. Had seen him show weakness.

"W-what the hell are you doing here, brute?"

The latter was all Izaya could choke out in his state of blind rage, he knew that after this there was no way he could ever come back to Ikebukuro. In fact, hadn't he just offered some balding dip-shit his job? Izaya truly had nothing left.

'So,' he thought bitterly; 'without my job, I'm pretty much an average, depressed human being.'

Izaya stood up and tried to dodge Shizuo, but misinterpreted his step and almost fell flat on his face, yet managed to steady himself and place his palm to his forehead.

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><p>Shizuo's expression was unreadable as he watched Izaya. He has never seen the guy show as much weakness as he did today, and it was really starting to mess with his mind. He didn't know why, but seeing him so choked up and out of it, seeing him crying in a small alley instead of roaming the town of Ikebukuro looking or his next pray to mess with was...strangely upsetting. He didn't want to admit it, but he didn't like seeing him like this. He actually felt relieved when he chased Izaya around, threatening to smash his head against the concrete or shove a stop sign through his stomach. Shizuo's expression stayed stoic behind his purple tinted sunglasses as he watched Izaya wipe away the fallen tears. "I was forced to return this to you." Shizuo answered Izaya's question with a nonchalant shrug as he lifted up the flick-blade in his hand, but he didn't plan of giving in back yet. Having it with him would be an excuse to stay a little longer and observe Izaya. Slowly, he stood up and grabbed Izaya's arm as gently as he could without knowing it. His face was set with a small scowled. "...Tell me...what's wrong." He said slowly, not sure of his words.<p>

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><p>Izaya looked at his arm, and then faced back to Shizuo, an expression of the utmost confusion leered over his features as the last of his tears fell from the corners of his eyes. Izaya was confused. For one, when did he say Shizuo could start speaking so gently to him? For two, when he start enjoying the heat that radiated from the man's touch? And thirdly, why did Izaya suddenly feel the need to be comforted by the same man who yelled at him death threats as much as any other person said 'hello' to their best friend. Izaya knew, however, that the blonde was equally as confused as he was. He was so at a loss for words, that all he could do was look down, try to will his face to contort back into that smirk, and hope that it work as he lifted his face and stared at Shizuo.<p>

It didn't work, Izaya's expression was a disheveled and weak grin, it only served to make him look more pathetic as he shook his head at Shizuo and downcast his lashes once again, to stare at the concrete rather than those eyes that were hidden by shades. Izaya felt as if he was the one being exposed, as if he were the prey. And he didn't like that feeling, not one bit.

"It doesn't matter, Shizu-chan... not like, you care."

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><p>Shizuo's shoulders slumped slightly as he tried to keep his thoughts together and figure out what he was doing. It was like his body was moving by itself to try and show Izaya some comfort, but for some reason he didn't mind as much as he thought that he would. Actually, he was starting to not mind Izaya's presence at all, finding it a good way to get rid of his boredom. It was really confusing in his mind, and as much as that little spot in his brain was telling him to throw a vending machine at the flea, something else, much stronger then the brain was telling him to stay with Izaya and comfort him. Shizuo's eyebrows narrowed as a frown made its way onto his lips as his grip on Izaya's arm tightened slightly before loosening again. "Don't try to force out a fake ass smirk or smile." He could see right through Izaya and how hard he was trying to seem fine. A small sigh left Shizuo's lips before he grunted softly. "Damn flea...I...I wouldn't be here if I didn't..If I didn't care." He stated firmly, though it came out quietly as he tried to piece together his words.<p>

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><p>Izaya was completely at a loss for words - now the brute was telling him that he CARED? Oh, it just got weirder by the second. He gradually looked up to meet those brown eyes that seemed so intent on boring right through him as he didn't smile, in fact, for the first time in a long time, Izaya was wearing his emotions on his sleeve. To have bottled all of the past years up inside of him, to have never cried, never cared, and suddenly to have it all crash down around you and trap you, really made Izaya realize that having someone, anyone, even Shizuo say that 'they care' wasn't a bad feeling at all.<p>

He actually, involuntarily found himself with a small weak but true smile as he watched Shizuo stutter his latter sentence, whatever tone he had used it made Izaya stop struggling and instead he let out a sigh and faced the ground. "Well, now you've seen me cry, at least. You happy, Shizu-chan?"

Izaya paused as he re-called the reason for Shizuo's little statement and his small smile faded, only to be replaced with a scowl. "Because, all I do is... no - it's not... I feel..." Before Izaya could stop himself from speaking his mind it was out.

"Lonely."

Immediately Izaya turned away, as if not to meet Shizuo's gaze - how could the brute NOT think that he was playing a joke? Of course he wasn't, Izaya was serious as anything, but how could Shizuo just... know? He felt the heat rising to his cheeks as the silence went on.

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><p>Shizuo kept his stare firm and steady as he watched Izaya's reaction as best as he could through his tinted sunglasses. Izaya looked so weak and fragile compared to how he usually saw him, and Shizuo found that this would be the perfect time to get revenge on him, from everything he did to him from when they first met to now. Though those thoughts washed out of his head as fast as they could when Izaya sent him an actually smile. No smirk or taunting grin that was usually sent to Shizuo, no, it was a small genuine smile.<p>

Shizuo felt his stomach tightened up for some unknown reason, causing him to flinch slightly. He had never felt such feeling before, and was caught off guard by it. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Shizuo questioned Izaya lowly. "I'm not that damn heartless." Shizuo's mind didn't process what Izaya said until he slowly played it back in his head. The trouble making information gather was lonely? At first, Shizuo was telling himself that it couldn't be the reason, there was no way that Izaya, the man that loved all humans and played with others mind, could feel something such as loneliness. The thought was cut short when he noticed the blush that adored the raven haired guys' cheeks. A tiny blush of his own rose on Shizuo's cheeks as a small thought crossed his mind. 'Why does he look so...cute..'

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><p><strong><em>ahhh i have a headache from eating too much cake TT0TT ~ anyway, i finally figured out how to use break lines =v=<em>**

**_so, i hope it makes more sense, now~! _**


	6. Chapter 6

Izaya looked up at Shizuo hesitantly to watch for his reaction, he was actually curious to know whether Shizuo would take this chance to snap him in half, after all, he had his chance, didn't he? It was weird for Izaya to feel Shizuo's touch without feeling pain, it was such a soft and gentle touch, Izaya found himself relaxing to it. He stopped tensing himself and let go. Izaya let his arm go limp, he let his body face Shizuo with a stern aurora, he let his mind go blank and the next thing he knew he was darting into the tall blonde's arms, burying his face in Shizuo's neck and gripping onto either side of his vest. Fuck, he thought. This is so wrong.

But it didn't feel wrong. Izaya knew when he 'sobered' up and then stopped the farce with his depression that he wouldn't enjoy this as much... Right?

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><p>Shizuo looked quite surprised when Izaya suddenly lunged at him without a warning or a heads up. He stiffened up horribly when he felt just how soft Izaya was then what he thought he would feel like. It was already very confusing as to why Shizuo was feeling so drawn towards Izaya like he was now, and surprisingly, he didn't try to push him off and yell at him like he would have usually done before today. Instead, he let the raven haired guy cling to him, though he didn't know what to do with his arms and kept them stiffly at his side until he unconsciously slipped them around Izaya's back and tried to relax. He might as well take in this small peaceful moment then make a big deal about it, is what he thought.<p>

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><p>Izaya partially knew what he was doing, the other part of him was so confused and overwhelmed by emotion. He should hate this, clinging to his enemy as if for dear life, but Shizuo wasn't bashing him up. If he had pushed him away, Izaya wasn't sure what he would have done apart from feel sorry for himself. He kept his face firmly if Shizuo's chest for a moment, and when he finally did move away he kept his hands against that strong body, as if trying to absorb the strength and will to keep smiling every day. Izaya eventually let his hands slide down as well, when they were safely back at his side, he couldn't bring himself to look Shizuo in the eye. But he had calmed him down a great deal, his back tingled around where Shizuo's had held him, and his emotions were simmered. The only problem now being Izaya's heart, which was being hard against his ribs. Izaya finally looked up to meet Shizuo's eyes, his own expression full of fear and he took a stepped back and began to turn; "S-sorry..."<p>

That was all Izaya said before he ran away, on that day, he chased himself out of Ikebukuro.

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><p>The next day Shizuo sat on a random bench in the park. His head was tiled back to rest on the top of the bench as he sat their silently. He was currently waiting for a call that he was suppose to get from his friend Tom, something about another client that they had to go deal with, but Shizuo wasn't concerned about that. He knew that they would just try to run away or climb out the window, and he would have to sit there and wait for them around the corner or under a tree to catch them before they got far. It wasn't a big deal to him. What was a current issue at the moment was the event that happened yesterday. Shizuo couldn't help but keep repeating in his mind, 'what the hell was that all about?'<p>

It confused him to no end why Izaya would act so fragile, or why Shizuo actually took the time to comfort his enemy since middle school. The thought made him close his eyes and take a deep breath before releasing it. Whatever, it was yesterday, 24 hours ago. It was in the past and he was guessing that everything would go back to what he would consider his 'normal routine.'

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><p>Izaya had dismissed Namie of work the next day, he had no intentions whatsoever of talking to anyone. He knew he was either suffering from depression or he had some kind of foot in mouth sickness all of a sudden, whatever it was he was scared of people being around him, in case he blurted out his mind like he had done with Shizuo. It did leave a bad after taste. He didn't understand it. His mind kept looming back to the past, he just couldn't seem to look ahead and try to see a better day - not which with what took place the previous day that there could be one.<p>

Izaya stood up from his chair, he felt disorientated and disconnected from the reality he once lived, if you could even call it a reality. Izaya felt as if his world had been burst. What had provoked it, though?

It was so sudden, and he couldn't touch on anything that could have caused it. Nothing came to mind. Nothing at all.

He perhaps just angered one person too many. Izaya was burst out of his day dream when he heard his phone ring.

Tentatively, he picked it up; "Hi. What?"

"Whoa! What's with the attitude?"

Shinra... 'Great,' Izaya thought.

"No reason. What do you want?"

"... Well I was hoping you could help me out with something. See, I need to do an experiment on someone's mi - "

"No thanks."

"Please! I won't poke anything into you! Just a headset and a few questions, I'll pay you!"

"How much?"

"Per hour, a lot."

Izaya thought for a moment. If he didn't have a job anymore, perhaps he could take all the money he could get.

"Yeah, okay."

Izaya hung up the phone and stared at it. What was wrong with him, seriously?

And so, for the second time, Izaya set foot in Ikebukuro with no intentions of fighting with Shizuo, or messing with anyone.

* * *

><p>Shizuo lifted his head up slowly when he saw a shadow loom over him that blocked the way of the sun. A grunt left his lips and he went to glare at the person, but noticed that it was just Celty standing in front of him, her helmet slightly tilted to show that she was confused.<p>

"Oh, it's just you. Hey." He greeted her before letting out a loud yawn. He really just felt like going back to his house and sleeping until he could forget about yesterday's event, but work was calling, and he didn't want to get fired for this job like all the others that he had. For once his anger problem was put to good use. She swiftly took out her phone and began to type quickly before flashing the screen at him.

'Are you okay? You seem out of it.'

He let his head nod up and down lazily before sitting up a bit straighter then he was originally. "Why are you here." Again, she typed and flashed him the screen. 'Shinra said he was going to be doing an experiment with someone. So I decided to find something to occupy myself. Want to do something?' Shizuo thought it over for a while before deciding that it wouldn't hurt. He was getting tired of waiting for the phone call from Tom anyway. "Fine, alright. Let's go." He stood up and Celty proceeded to start her motorcycle up.

* * *

><p>Izaya stared at Shinra for a while, trying to wrap his brain around what he was being tested for. It wasn't for disease, nor any kind of sickness, or anything to do with indulging in a search for a cure of any sorts, no, Shinra wanted to poke around the occupations of Izaya's mind.<p>

Well, at a time like this in Izaya's life - was that not just ironic? Izaya had to admit, the timing was perfect was it not shirking his nerves all the more. As he stood there, head cocked to the side, same smirk as usual, and a hand in the depths on his pocket, he also had malice in the depths of his crimson eyes, directed straight at Shinra.

"Ah, you came~!" Shinra grinned as he motioned towards a study; "This way."

Izaya sighed and followed him in, sitting up on a small white bed he glanced towards his high-school acquaintance. "So... what exactly are you going to do to me?"

Shinra held up a bunch of wired and tilted his head in a motion for Izaya to lie down. When the informant complied, he began to attach the wired to various parts of his body, mostly his head.

"I want to play around with a lie detector. They are usually inaccurate, since they measure heart-rate, but the questions I'm going to ask will probably arouse memories. On top of that, I'm worried about you."

"Worried about me?"

"Celty saw what happened yesterday."

Izaya's heart jumped to his throat before he sputtered out a laugh; "WHAT happened yesterday?"

"With Shizuo."

A scowl brought itself over Izaya's features; "Well... it was a joke."

"A joke?"

"I wanted to see how Shizu-chan would react."

Shinra stopped hustling about around him and stared at his friend, a look of disappointment washing over him; "Izaya... that's cruel."

"That's what I do."

"To Shizuo?"

"He didn't care, he watched me run away."

"He ran after you."

"Is that all Celty told you?"

Shinra paused. "That's all she said."

Izaya inwardly let out a massive sigh of relief. "That's all there was to it, he never found me."

At that point the machine started beeping.

And Shinra grinned. "75% accurate."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Boooo at the weird whether changes where I live D:<em>**

**_anyways, reviewing to tell me what you think would be nice, to everyone who has - thankyou!_**


	7. Chapter 7

Shizuo held onto the back of Celty's motorcycle tightly as she quickly drove off into the street. His thoughts were calming down and weren't running around like they were before, which made him start to relax.

He leaned his weight to the left as Celty made a turn to another main street. Truthfully, he wasn't really paying attention to the ride at all. He was just letting her drive wherever she was planning to go. He had done this many times and actually trusted her to drive where ever while he just hitched a ride in the back.

Shizuo noticed that Celty slowed down her motorcycle to a stop as she hit a red light. Then she took out her phone and swiftly typed on it like she had done not too long ago before flashing it at him again.

'So tell me what happened yesterday.' Shizuo raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why she was so curious about his day. He replied with a shrug before getting comfortable. "Why would you want to know that?" Again, the headless rider typed quickly and flashed him the screen of the phone as the light turned green. 'I saw what happened with you and Izaya.' Shizuo's eyes widened as Celty began to drive once again. He didn't really care about the other nameless people in Ikebukuro, but if it was someone that he knew then that just made the situation a lot worse than it already was. After a couple of minutes of nothing but the passing wind, he grunted. "Nothing happened, end of story."

* * *

><p>By the end of the testing, Izaya was ready to snap. Shinra had luckily refrained from poking through his skin with anything, but he seemed to be performing some kind of reverse psychology on him, which Izaya should have A: been able to detect, and, B: backfired. But he didn't even notice until that stupid machine would measure his heart rate and beep. What was the point of this, anyway? Well, he was being paid. And money was money.<p>

However, Izaya was gripping the edges of the white bed, he was sitting up, now, his legs over the side, he felt as though he knew how Shizuo felt - just times the annoyance he was experiencing by fifty. He narrowed his eyes at Shinra, who was sucking on his pen and every now and then taking it out of his mouth to scribble something down on the page.

"Can I go now?"

"Not until you tell me what happened, did Shizuo hurt you anywhere? Or vice versa?"

"Shinra, why do you care. We always fight." Izaya tried to will himself to go back to 'normal'.

"Hmm?" He looked up from the writing or drawing or scribbling or whatever he was doing and grinned; "Maybe because you've never backed away. And, he's never let you go."

Izaya stayed silent for a moment. "So... what exactly did you get out of all of this?"

Shinra's creepy smile widened; "You mean, aside from measuring the heart-rate of a person who knows how to control their emotions and then storing the information from your minds recreational and vivid imagination skills so I can compare it to someone the complete opposite of you?"

Izaya swallowed, hard. "You mean..."

"I have come to this conclusion!" Shinra stood up from his chair, completely ignoring what Izaya knew was true - he wanted to test Shizuo, to ask Shizuo the same questions. Was Shinra just super suspicious or desperate to find out what happened? Or did he really care?

Izaya's thoughts hitched when he saw what Shinra was holding up - the results of his scribblings and lines every few seconds.

A piece of paper that, under a few notes to satisfy himself and a ridiculous drawing, read clearly; 'Izaya is in love with Shizuo, and won't fight him because he's upset that Shizuo doesn't love him back'.

Izaya stood up, gritting his teeth, and he walked out of the house without another word. He swore he'd never talk to that bastard again.

* * *

><p>Celty continued to ride around and ask Shizuo questions at ever red light. Probably still curious about the whole episode that happened yesterday, but Shizuo was stubborn, and reluctant in answering any at all. He wasn't going to spill anything about yesterday, especially since he was trying his hardest to forget the whole ordeal and not worry about it. He still reflected back on the event and ponder why he would even show kindness to the person that has sent multiple gangs at him just to try and rid him from the world.<p>

'So your sure that nothing happened?' Celty pressed again for the 50th time in that hour before the light turned green. Shizuo threw her an irritated looked, though he knew that she couldn't see it.

"Drop the damn subject already!"

He snapped before hearing his phone buzz in his pocket. Pulling it out while steadying himself on the motorcycle, he check the message that he just received.

'New client bro, I'll pick you up so where are you?- Tom'

Usually Shizuo wasn't fond of chasing after the numerous people in debt, but he actually felt relieve to be able to dodge Celty's raid fired questions. "Just drop me off right here." Shizuo instructed as they got to a familiar street that he knew he could find Tom from. The street wasn't popular as the other streets were, so he knew that it wouldn't be hard to finding his 'partner in crime.' Celty complied and pulled to the side of the street before typing again. 'By the way, Shinra wanted you for something. So when you have the chance, go meet him.'

Shizuo sent her a nonchalant wave, as he lit a cigarette and started to walk down the street. "Yeah yeah, I'll be there later if I have time." He replied, watching Celty drive off then took out his phone and text Tom his whereabouts.

* * *

><p>Izaya was content on walking home without people seeing him, without anyone noticing. Because of yesterday, however, a few people stopped to look at him. Geez, information must get around Ikebukuro pretty quick.<p>

He decided to walk with his head down this time, facing the floor. Something was definitely wrong with him, Shinra was probably right to be worried.

But Izaya was sure now that it was over with, he'd had no reason to go back to Ikebukuro, so inwardly, he bid everyone there a goodbye. Not that they would care if he died, anyway. No one would.

Shizuo had definitely been lying. Shizuo of all people, would love to watch Izaya suffer.

The brunette took a different turn then the one to Shinjuku, however. He turned into an alley, at the prospect of finding that tall building. He was sent there once for work, a man at the top floor owed someone big, and Izaya was sent to find out who. Anyway, Izaya remembered there being a roof on top of that building, that overlooked Ikebukuro and beyond in the sunset. It was the first thing in a while that had captured his attention from no other reason than being absolutely beautiful.

Izaya walked through the doors of the tall building and ignored the reception desk, heading straight for the lift.

Finally, when Izaya reached the roof he was happy to feel a breeze hit him, and he sat at the edge of the roof against the bar railing, slipping two legs through the gaps, trying to ignore the business men smoking around him.

A lot of people depict the world around them as something to take for granted, and yes, Izaya thought of this only because he had done so. Toying with others emotions didn't feel so great when they backfired, watching someone get smashed in the face by a blonde monster was entertaining as it was the most entertainment Izaya got that didn't make him feel immensely guilty afterwards. Since the sun was almost setting, it painted the town a pretty orange, and Izaya scrunched his nose. He didn't like the color orange.

A thought crossed his mind.

He could jump.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapters are tiny, I know... but there's only so much we can write! thank you for reading^^<em>**


	8. Chapter 8

Shizuo let out a puff of smoke as he walked behind Tom. They had met up at Russia sushi since it was pretty close to where they both were located at the moment, and from there the two began the walk to their next victim.

"So, who is this guy were after?" He asked, though he wasn't really interested in the information at all. He just wanted something to occupy him.

"I was told that he's some guy who owes a big dept. everything they try to catch him though, he would slip away unnoticed."

A snort left Shizuo as he absorbed the information and readjusted his sunglasses so that they wouldn't fall off his nose. He wondered how the guy always got away, but shrugged it off. Knowing how this type of situation always ended, either they were going to catch the guy or he was going to piss Shizuo and get his ass thrown across town.

"Alright wait here. If he tries to run you know what to do." Tom instructed and walked into the rather tall building. Shizuo waited outside by the door, watching the people that pasted by. His eyes traveled up to the top of the building when he noticed something that looked like legs sticking out through the bar. He couldn't clearly see the person, so he just shrugged it off. Suddenly the door to the building burst open and guy ran out, but bumped into him.

"Here he comes Shizuo!" Tom yelled from inside the building, not far behind the panicked man. Shizuo was quick to grab the guy by the back of his shirt, but froze when he felt something pierce his skin. The man had stabbed him in the arm, causing blood to ruin his new white shirt. A growl left Shizuo before he gather all of his strength and launched the guy into the air, watching him fly over buildings with a scowled on his face.

"And there he goes.." A sigh left Toms lips, knowing that it was going to be harder to find him again.

* * *

><p>Izaya was basking in the peace, contemplating his choices when he heard a yelp and to his dismay, he watched a body fly through the air. Oh, that could only mean one thing.<p>

Izaya instantly shot up and placed his hands against the cool railings, looking down on Ikebukuro in search for who he thought, no, who he KNEW was responsible for the commotion. When he spotted Shizuo, standing there with that guy Tom that he walked around with sometimes, Izaya mentally groaned. Everywhere he went - the blonde was there too! Why couldn't he be given a break?

As he leaned over to get a better look at perhaps what went on to make Shizuo act in such a way, he felt hands slide up his back, and instantly Izaya turned around, his flick-blade at ready, making the two men that had surrounded him back-off.

"Izaya Orihara," one's grin was malicious, utterly creepy. He was one of the businessmen that were smoking, put a damper on one of his senses as he tried to live in a perfect moment. No doubt the other man was the same.

Izaya let his smirk play at his lips, luckily, when it wasn't Shizuo, he could keep his cool. He didn't even stop to think why that was. Mainly because he didn't have time.

"You got our little buddy in a lotta trouble," the other man spoke, spitting on the floor beside Izaya's foot.

Izaya scrunched up his nose in distaste again, seriously, why do people do that a lot lately?

"I don't even know which 'buddy' you're talking about," Izaya's grip tightened.

Obviously his voice annoyed them, because one of them grabbed Izaya's arm that held his flick blade, and the other grabbed his collar. It was so sudden, usually he'd have no problem in deflecting it... but he let them.

Izaya dropped the knife as he was pushed back against the rails, these men seemed to know what they were doing, and Izaya couldn't blame them. As his body gradually got forced more and more over the edge, he made sure to grip onto the top of the bars, so when they did push him, roughly and cackling, Izaya managed to flip to the other side safely with his grip still on the bars.

However when one of the guys picked up his flick-blade, yes, his favorite one, and put the tip of the blade against one of his fingers, Izaya's smirk faded. Oh, SHIT!

* * *

><p>Shizuo let out an irritated sigh as he rolled up the sleeve of his arm, inspecting his new wound. He wasn't expecting for the guy to bring a weapon, since most of the time one wouldn't even think to carry around a knife, but this guy..He was actually a little smart. Tom sighed as well and turned his attention to Shizuo when he saw that their client was completely gone.<p>

Looks like we have to find him again."

"Sorry.."

With a shake of his head, Tom let out a small laugh to try and humor the situation.

"It's fine. It wouldn't be fun if it wasn't a challenge..Ya know?"

He tried to reason before wincing at the blood that was still flowing from Shizuo's arm. "But you should seriously get that cleaned off before it gets infected."

Tom pointed to the small puddle of blood on the floor, then to the source of it, Shizuo's arm.

Shizuo looked it over himself before ripping up the sleeve that was already ruined. He wrapped it around the arm before flexing his arm a bit. "It's fine." I didn't hurt as much as he thought at it would. Tom wasn't paying attention thought, he was looking up at a couple of figures, one looking about ready to fall.

"I wonder who that is..."

Shizuo looked up at the top of the building as well, not really interested.

"Probably someone that that bastard flea set up."

* * *

><p>Izaya didn't know what to do, he had contemplated jumping - but being sent off a building by a bunch of dicks that he didn't even know the name of? (Not that he knew the names of most of his clients) - That was just NOT going to happen!<p>

However as he tried to swing himself up again, or look for some kind of distraction, Izaya felt a pain in his middle finger and he had to bite his lip and on top of that, somehow keep his hold even as his own knife was slicing through his flesh.

It was also going painfully slow, as if, on top of being unnecessary for the task of having someone drop off of a building, it was as if the men were unsure.

Izaya just couldn't believe that this was happening to him of all people - was it because he had made himself vulnerable again? He had to stop doing that!

But this time, there was no way that Shizuo would help him, he had treated him pretty badly. On top of that, if Shinra or Celty had told him any of what Izaya had said about him earlier, out of embarrassment although he'd liked the words that came out of his mouth, it'd definitely give Izaya reason to grin would he be able to if he didn't die.

"Stop!"

Surprisingly, the men stopped. The fear and hint of pain in Izaya's voice was something rarely heard.

Izaya just kept looking down, which was probably not the best of remedies. "Please, stop..."

"You can't just beg us to stop now, you know. You're filth, and what goes around comes around."

Well, ouch.

"P-please, I know I deserve it, j-just stop."

"What the fuck?"

"Is he pretending?"

"Those tears aren't even real..."

But all Izaya could think was, crying twice in two days? Who the hell was he...?

* * *

><p>Tom looked over Shizuo's arm and shook his head. This was the first time that someone actually tried to attack the ruthless brute Shizuo Heiwajima on purpose.<p>

"That guy stabbed pretty deep,"

He noted to himself. Shizuo grunted and tried to flex his arm a little, but that only added up more pain on his strained arm. "You should probably have Shinra look that over."

Shizuo agreed with a nod but a sound caught his attention before he could began his journey to Shinra's apartment. It looked like Tom noticed it too because he looked around, then up when he realized where the commotion was coming from.

"Hey, that one looks familiar...is that that guy Izaya?"

Shizuo looked up immediately after hearing the name. He could clearly see just what was happening now, and he felt his eyes narrow at the scene.

"I'll be right back..."

"Wait what about your arm?"

Tom asked curiously, but only got a shrug as a response. "I'll fix it in a second."

He ignored all the rest of the questions that was thrown at him and up the stairs, pacing himself as he went. 'Damn it, why do I care?..' Was the first thing that went through his mind as he reached the top of the building and kicked the door open.

"Who the hell are y-"

A punch was sent to each of the men, sending then crashing into a nearby wall.

"Tch." Shizuo snorted before wincing. He had strained his arm too much and caused it to bleed more.

* * *

><p><strong><em>I wish I could use more cliffhangers... then the chapters would be literally a sentence long :P<em>**


	9. Chapter 9

**_This will be a short chapter - I'm sorry TTへTT_**

* * *

><p>Izaya had his eyes squeezed tightly shut, there was no way he wanted to dare open them. He finally accepted that, he was about to die. Well, maybe it wasn't so bad. He'd spent most of the late years of his life playing cat and mouse with a certain monster that tormented him without realizing it, but he'd also spent his later years observing those who were to be the cause of his downfall. Ordinary human beings.<p>

He mentally rolled his eyes, only stopping when his heart jumped to his throat when he heard a man protest something, and then a sickening crack, a few crashing sounds, and a snicker.

Izaya's eyes fluttered open, he glanced around in front of him, there was no one occupying his escape, he used that to pulled himself swiftly over the edge, and he landed safely in a heap on the roof's hard concrete ground. His arms ached, and his finger stung, but hell, he'd had worse things than this happen to him, it was nothing.

Izaya rubbed the tears out of his eyes, when something sunk in. Oh, god.

His eyes snapped open, and immediately glared at Shizuo, yes, he registered the blood dripping from Shizuo's arm, apart from that, and he had a slight idea why Shizuo had saved him.

His lips twisted into a sad smile, he himself didn't know if it was for real or forced, he was thankful at the same time he was sickened.

"Is it because you have some strange complex, Shizu-chan?" Izaya let out a sigh; "Because you want to be the one who kills me?"

He slowly stood, taking a longer glance at his arm. It was cut pretty deep. And that was the only reason Izaya could think of why the blonde would even want to save him.

"Me too..." He said, a little softer. His mind was spinning, but there was nothing but the truth in his words. "If anyone was to kill me, I'd want it to be you."

* * *

><p>Shizuo glanced at Izaya when he saw that the young information collector was able to get back behind the bars, falling safely onto the ground and away from the edge. His mind slowly replayed what had happened as he stood silently a couple of feet away from the men that he had just launched into the wall. The pain from his arm had started to numb up as he let it dangle beside him, having more important matters on his mind.<p>

Why the hell had he just saved the flea that has made his life a living hell?

The thought struck over and over again, and he tried horribly to think of an excuse that he would let himself believe, but came up with nothing but lame situations and excuses. It made him grimace, knowing that he didn't have a clue as to what he was feeling or what was wrong with him. But one thing was for sure, as soon as he saw that I was Izaya in a life or death situation, he leaped without even thinking about it. Slowly, very slowly, he was starting to believe Izaya's words. Maybe he did really have some type of twisted complex with him that cause him to take action without thinking it over rationally.

Truth be told, he was shocked by Izaya's words, and found himself staring at the raven haired boy with wide eyes, before turning away stubbornly and grunting. "What the hell are you talking about...fucking flea.." He sent Izaya a sideways glance before turning away from him, searching his pockets for a cancer stick to calm his nerves, only to let out a stream of cusses when he figured out that the both were empty.

* * *

><p>Izaya shrugged off Shizuo's pathetic attempt not to care with a disheveled grin. Heaving out a sigh, Izaya took a few steps forward, until he was less than a meter apart from Shizuo. It felt degrading if anything that Izaya was talking to Shizuo's back like this, but he went on. Pushing for what he wanted. What he needed.<p>

He hadn't given his words much thought. No, Izaya usually did think before he acted. This time, he was trying to refrain from doing just that. He was scared that, if he pondered properly about what he was about to ask of Shizuo, that Izaya wouldn't hesitate after that to turn on his heels and run. Run away. Again. He inwardly swore that wouldn't, no, it couldn't happen.

"Truth be told, Shizu-chan, I was planning to jump, anyway," Izaya's eyes set downcast to the ground as he brought his palm to his forehead, and chuckled softly; "But I didn't want to die at the hands of lowlife's like these men. So, I guess I have you to thank there."

Izaya straightened himself up again, only stepping closer to Shizuo, that one person that made his heart race the way it should at least once in a while.

"Ne, Shizu-chan... it's not like I like doing this. And, no, I'm not screwing with your little mind, either. I am sick of pretending to know how to grin and bear it when I suffice so much shit from other people." Izaya hummed a sigh, again, before he shoved his hands back into his jacket pockets and finally got down to his initial 'want'.

"So, I have a proposal for you," Izaya lifted his head up a bit. "If you treat me like a human, like I am someone you care for, for a week... and that means you take me out, you abide by my weird needs to eat strange foods, you watch movies with me - you, dare I say it, befriend me..." Izaya's small grin faded, and he stared forward sternly. "Shizuo."

Weird, saying his full name properly like that.

"If you do all that, for a week, I will let you kill me."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Here we are! Finally we're beginning to be on track ! Chapters may take a bit longer to come out now since we can very little done per week. But still, they will come! Thank-you <em>**


	10. Chapter 10

Shizuo didn't know why, but he found a sudden interest in the words that Izaya was speaking to him. Usually Shizuo would be bored by now and walk away without second thought about it if it was any other person, but this was so very different. Has the small, easily amused mind of Izaya Orihara finally cracked under all the information and situations that he has been in?

Shizuo was really starting to think so.

Even though he was tempted to beat the living hell out of the guy right there and now for talking like he was of a higher status then him, he waited and listened. He was curious, and wanted to hear all that Izaya had to say.

He found himself turning around slowly, not all the way, but enough to be able to see Izaya clearer then he had before. 'Why should I care anyway...' He pondered why he still bothered to stay there and listen. Why was this information being told to him when he had someone like Namie to tell all this to? Shizuo looked uninterested in the conversation as he continued to try and look for any trace of his cigarettes left by patting his pockets.

His movement stopped and his eyes shot over to Izaya, his mind going into frenzy. Did Izaya just address him by his actually full name, no nick name or pet name.

Spend a week, with this guy? He would be out of his mind to accept such an offer! But, the thought of finally being able to put this flea in his grave once and for all, and the fact that Shizuo felt as though his mind was already in a pretty bad state. Why would he pass up the opportunity? "For a week..."

After much thinking it over, and his mind going into a jumble mess, he turned at Izaya with a serious look. Just this once, he was not going to listen to the voice in the back of his head. "Fine. I'll take you up on the deal, fle-...Izaya."

* * *

><p>As Shizuo side-glanced him, Izaya felt a sudden need to just run away. Like his offer was the lowest he'd ever sunk to... it really was. He was, despite speaking as the superior, lowering himself to Shizuo's prey, rather than the person that bothered him day in and day out. Truth be told, Izaya's heart was racing.<p>

For once, he wasn't trying to screw with Shizuo's mind. He wasn't going to seduce him - well, he was going to try not to, who knows what could happen with his good body - and he wasn't going to talk about his life, job, family, and his thoughts on humans. No, he was going to share idol conversation. He was going to make sure, that he felt human. That he felt like he was on the same level as everybody else.

But when Shizuo actually accepted, and corrected himself instantly, Izaya chuckled lightly. "Aren't you even wondering; 'Why me?', Shizu-chan?"

Just because Shizuo had to treat Izaya nicely, didn't mean Izaya had to do the same. He would just refrain from teasing him a little more.

Izaya walked forward, so he was in step beside the tall blonde, his hands slid into his jacket pockets as he stared up at him. "Well, then. If not, let's go somewhere~!"

* * *

><p>Shizuo didn't know if it was the right decision to actually take up the offer or not, but he guessed that it would be pretty much worth it when he was finally able to shed some blood. There was probably some loophole in the agreement though.<p>

Of course the thought of why did this have to happen to him constantly ran through his mind, but he wasn't going to give Izaya any satisfaction, especially since he actually agreed to spend a week with him. Instead, he rolled his eyes at Izaya and crossed his arms over his chest before realizing that there was dry blood.

God damn it, he had completely forgotten that he had a pretty deep cut in his arm. There was no way that he was going to walk around all day with an open wound. So with a heavy sigh, he motioned for Izaya to follow after him as he walked out the door to the roof and down the stairs.

"Were going to my place first." He muttered under his breath. There was no way that he was going to Shinra's place right now. He would probably want to run experiments, and Shizuo wasn't in the mood to deal with them. Luckily, Tom had already left, probably to go find the client. The last thing he wanted was to let rumors spread that he was actually befriending the annoying idiot that he couldn't even stand.

* * *

><p>Izaya grinned and he slightly skipped to take a step forward. He was going to try and get on Shizuo's nerves - hell, he was literally dying for this, and he might as well have some fun whilst he was doing it!<p>

Truth was, Izaya wanted to be with Shizuo in that week, because unlike most others, who'd prefer to be with someone who keeps them calm, who makes them happy, and who they can be content with, Izaya would prefer to be with Shizuo. Shizuo made his heart race, he allowed Izaya to feel feelings he hadn't felt in years, and Izaya had to try so hard to keep his cool around him. And this was only as of lately.

"Ne, Shizu-chan - I've never been to your place before! I bet it's a real wreck, right?" He gave a sweet grin before stepping backwards to meet Shizuo's side again. Izaya's hand slid out of his pocket and gripped onto Shizuo's wrist, pulling him forward, totally ignoring the huge gash in the brute's arm.

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><p>Shizuo couldn't help but feel his blood boil ever so slightly at the fact that Izaya was skipping and looking as giddy as ever.<p>

'Is this guy bipolar or some crazy shit like that?' Is what he thought as he rolled his eyes. Izaya was acting like the whole ordeal was just some moment, like nothing even happened before they made the agreement, which sort of pissed Shizuo off for some unknown reason, but he let it slide and tried his best to ignore the ecstatic flea. It's only going to be a week, what possible harm could Izaya do?..Okay that was a stupid way of looking at it. A growl escaped Shizuo's mouth as he turned a small glare to the information gatherer. "Shut up, you talk to freaking mu-" His words were cut short when he felt Izaya tug on his wrist, and had to hold in the urge to punch him in the jaw. Instead, he quickly tugged his arm out of his grip and clenched his teeth together. "God damn it Izaya-kun!" It had barely been five minutes and he already couldn't stand it.

* * *

><p>Izaya's attitude snapped straight away. Oh? So he wasn't allowed to be happy? He stumbled back when Shizuo's hand yanked out of his reach, and when he noticed the gash, he had to wonder whether it was that, or the fact that Shizuo actually seriously didn't want to be touched by him. He sighed and then shoved his hands back into his pockets. "Fine... I'll sulk."<p>

And so, when they made a start down the stairs Izaya's eyes were set to the floor, and he was just staring at every dirty step forlornly. Well, wasn't this fun! He was meant to be ENJOYING the week before he died. It occurred to him suddenly that if Izaya died at the hands of Shizuo, Shizuo would be awfully satisfied. IT made him wonder, was he doing this because he needed to die, or because he wanted to thank Shizuo for making his life somewhat exciting?

Izaya had no idea. He simply followed Shizuo with a childish pout on his face.

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><p><strong><em>Exams in one week... posting may become slower. Or faster as I do not study.<em>**


	11. Chapter 11

Shizuo sent Izaya a look before starting on ahead again. "Do you have no self control?" He muttered under his breath, directing the question to the now sulking guy. It was like Izaya had a split personality or something, because he seemed to change his mood constantly and quickly. Shizuo's eyes stayed trained forward as he walked down the steps with the surprisingly now quiet information gatherer.

Maybe he was insulted by the way Shizuo had pulled his arm away from him so quickly and roughly? Eh, it wasn't really his concern anyway. As they walked down the steps he couldn't help but glance back to see what Izaya was doing. Call it paranoia but he didn't trust him walking silently behind him at all. He rolled his eyes at the childish pout etched onto Izaya's face. Well, he WAS suppose to be 'nice' to him for a week, and Shizuo would rather have him making noises then being creepily quiet, so he cleared his throat slightly and stopped waiting for a second to poke him on the forehead. "Stop being so quiet...it's fucking creepy." When they finally made it out of the dusty old apartment Shizuo plunged his hands into his pocket and started the path to his house. He was going to be cautious walking around with Izaya Orihara, who knows what could happen. He also wanted to make sure that not a lot of people were out so that they didn't give him any weird stares involving his opened wound. He was already an outcast because of his short temper and brute strength, he didn't need stares to go with it at the moment.

* * *

><p>Izaya's eyes threaten to widen in shock as Shizuo playfully poked his forehead, instead, he found himself involuntarily blushing at the notion. He mentally scolded himself. Why did he even cause that kind of reaction? He couldn't just go getting flustered every time Shizuo caused some kind of petty fake kindness, creating some kind of false sense of security for Izaya, who was sure that it was going to be hard for Shizuo, behind Izaya's back, not to snap his neck right there and then.<p>

Izaya put the nervousness down to the fact that he was embarrassed of being seen with Shizuo. Embarrassed of being touched by him. However, that little motion alone was enough to make Izaya grin like an excited child until they reached the middle of Ikebukuro. Then his smile was wiped away by the stares, the snickers.

Obviously, people shoved both Izaya and Shizuo aside from normal human beings. They counted them either lower, or higher, depending on the mind track of the person. But Izaya knew this from one thing, Shizuo was liked a lot more than he was. Though Shizuo was fun to fight, and Izaya paid a lot of guys to bug him that way, Izaya was generally, a very despised human.

The snickers were sent to him, mainly. The smirks to Shizuo. The snickers because Izaya had haphazardly 'finally given up, or been put to his level'. Shizuo, because 'Who'd ever thought that brute would have a heart to not kill him?'

Izaya subconsciously reached out, actually kind of affected by the stares in his fragile state, and his hand momentarily clutched the back of Shizuo's vest. "Shizuo..." He murmured weakly.

He let his eyes look around at every single person there. It was kind of scary, Izaya always liked attention but this kind of attention was humiliating... or, just, painful.

* * *

><p><strong><em>superdumbshort chapter... but we're going to have to deal with it for now :3<em>**


	12. Chapter 12

Shizuo was actually a little...a smug bit relieved to see Izaya grinning ear to ear...even if he did look like an idiot. That meant that he was still on the right track in keeping his side of the deal. 'A week.' Shizuo kept reminding himself to keep him from trying to kill Izaya. His hands were buried deeper in his pockets as he walked, staring ahead with an uninterested look on his face. He could already feel all the different stares being directed to him and Izaya, and seriously, after all that had happened today he really wasn't in the mood to deal with any of these ignorant, judgmental, faceless people that spread rumors through Ikebukuro like it was nothing. His will to stay calm was slowly breaking by the minute until finally, he reached for the first thing he could get his hands on, which happened to be a nearby vending machine full of assorted drinks and raise it over his head. A large scowled was on his face as he roared loudly, his 'calm' nature snapping as fast as a twig.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT!"

Needless to say, many were startled by his outburst and strength and tuned away quickly, acting like they were not starring at all. A grunt sounded form Shizuo, a sound of satisfaction by the heads that turned and pretended like they were doing much more important things then gossiping. Slowly, he lowered the machine back on the ground and grabbed Izaya's wrist, pulling him a long with out much thought. One thing that he couldn't stand was the nosy, gossiping idiots that had nothing better to do then spread rumors that weren't their business. Then again, that was what being nosy was all about, wasn't it?

When he finally reached his apartment, since there was no real point in having a house when he was the only one, he opened the door and pushed Izaya in before slamming the door. His angry still visible as he paced his living, looking for a box of cigarette to calm his nerves.

* * *

><p>For once, Izaya was something other than entertained by Shizuo's major outbursts, rather, this time he was releived by it. He wanted to keep his hand clutching onto the fabric of Shizuo's shirt, dare he say it - right then, even though he was sure Shizuo was doing it because he himself didn't like the stares he was getting, Izaya felt protected. He relaxed a little, ready to take that walk to Shizuo's apartment bit by bit, before he felt his wrist being grabbed, with a monstorous grip that caused him to wince as he was tugged. "Shi..."<p>

Izaya didn't finish trying to protest. He didn't feel like having Shizuo let go. Because he WANTED to feel protected. However, when he was roughly shoved into the apartment, Izaya was horrified to find himself stumbling of all things, and he had to balance himself so he wouldn't fall right over.

He just stood there, a little unsure of what to do or say, for once, he was speechless, he just watched Shizuo pace, turning around to see a pack of ciggs on the coffee table behind him. Sighing, Izaya picked them up and toyed with them in his hand, smirking at Shizuo's grumpy behaviour. "Oi, Shizu-chan!"

* * *

><p>Shizuo continued to pace the room as he looked around. Half to find his pack of cigarettes, and the other half to calm his nerves as best as he could. He wasn't trying to break anything in his house because he wasn't willing to pay for damages.<p>

His attention moved from the shelf of books that he was looking through to Izaya when he heard his name being called by that annoying voice. He let out a low grunt as he walked over and took them out of Izaya's hand before pulling one out and taking out the lighter in his pocket. He lit it quickly and took a big drag before exhaling slowly. It really did help him to calm down more then talking to someone. He looked around the room after a minute or two, forgetting why they came here in the first place before realizing the dry blood on his shirt. He stood up and put out the ciggy before turning to Izaya awkwardly. He never was a really good host and didn't have people over most of the time, so what was he suppose to do. "Er...Stay here, watch t.v...i don't care just don't go messing everything up." With that said he made his way over to the bathroom to fix himself up properly.

* * *

><p>Izaya stared at Shizuo a little distantly, he wasn't even focusing on his words. Did smoking really calm someone down THAT much? How doubted it'd work on himself, Izaya didn't have much of a temper - he just felt overly nervous right then, for no reason whatsoever. He nodded, watching Shizuo walk out of the room, and Izaya turned to the T.V. He didn't really feel like turning it on at all - there was way too much that he had postponed thinking about, but he knew he had to start thinking about it now. He sat down on the couch, before realising it was oddly comfy, and Izaya layed himself over it, curling his legs to his chest. Thinking. It would only serve to help him, that he actually knew what he was doing.<p>

Right then, Izaya's life consisted of this.

Shizu-chan.

And that was it. He had no job, no body to tamper with, no desire to visit anyone, no will to try and make friends, and on top of that, he was simply put off his own existance in the first place. For a week, his last week, he had Heiwajima Shizuo. At least he could try to make it worth while. The thought of dying - at Shizuo's hands - how would he do it? Painfully, no doubt. It was worrying, and damn was Izaya scared. Why was he doing this? But he couldn't have cold feet about it now. He wasn't a coward. He just couldn't figure out why a week with Shizuo was the last thing on his agenda before he left the earth.

Surely Shizuo would have noticed by then? Or didn't the brute have a brain that hard to think. Izaya wanted to be with Shizuo before he died, right up to the last second. He himself found it disgusting to think, Shizuo didn't falter to interest him.

He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. What the hell was he doing?

* * *

><p>Shizuo shuffled and rattled through the shelves in his bathroom as he looked for the first aid kit. It wasn't everyday that he would get hurt, and when he did get hurt he would travel to Shinra's to get his wounds sanitized and dressed properly so that he didn't have to do it himself.<p>

"Where the hell is that damn kit.."

He muttered under his breath as he continued to look. The towel rack, bath tub, behind the toilet, he looked everywhere for it until he began to get frustrated with all of it. Holding back his angry, he checked the one last place that he didn't' think it would be.

Under the sink.

He let out an irritated sigh as he reached under there and pulled out the exact object that he was looking for. As he started to take out the correct materials his mind started to wonder. Why did Izaya suddenly want to be killed, and by the very being he hated. Of course Shizuo leaped at the opportunity to finally get rid of the flea once and for all, to get him to stay out of Ikebukuro forever...But.. It made absolutely no sense...

His thoughts were cut short when a stinging sensation rolled up his arm. Without knowing it, he had started to pour nail polish remover instead of peroxide on his wound.

"Shit, fuck, damn it all!"

A stream of curses left his mouth as he quickly rinsed off his arm and dosed it with peroxide. It was probably Shinra who had secretly switched the two that one day that he decided to randomly appear at Shizuo's door step. That guy was writing his own death wish it seemed.

After much frustration he walked back into the living room and sat on the other side of the couch, clicking the t.v. on even though there was never anything interesting on as he tried to think of something that him and Izaya could do. It was apart of the deal, after all.

* * *

><p>Izaya stared in disbelief at Shizuo, who'd just casually plopped himself down at the other end of the couch near his feet. It was so strange - having the blonde man this close and not having him suddenly spontaneously lunge out and attack him, snap his neck or break any of his bones - still, Izaya was on edge. Even though he was, when Shizuo's head was turned towards the T.V screen, he couldn't help but smile at him. Shizuo was strangely alluring, probably why Izaya chose to spend his last with with the brute. Because he was different, unsuspecting, hard to read, thick... all these things that summed up the man before him.<p>

"Shizu-channnn," Izaya gave him a weak smile from his position laying down, nudging the side of his thigh with his foot; "Don't look so serious."

He wanted for some reason to calm him down, to make Shizuo feel as though this wasn't a chore, more of a fun thing to do everyday. Even though it would inwardly kill him... Izaya was already enjoying being in somebody's company, even if it was Shizuo's.

* * *

><p>Shizuo glanced at Izaya with little to no interest. He really wondered when and why he had start calling him Shizu-chan...but then again he did call him Izaya-kun. It was pretty weird to him since they hated each others guts and could never find a way to get a long, but here they are now, sitting on the same couch with the T.V. on like there was no tension between them. A grunt left his throat before he turned off the TV and shifted so instead he was starring at Izaya. He was trying to see if this whole plot was a fake, if Izaya was just trying to get him to let his guard down so that he could find a way to quickly dispose of him without much work. It wasn't every day that your worst enemy wanted you to spend a week with them before they died by your hands.<p>

"Why are you so bent on dying anyways."

He muttered lowly under his breath before heaving a sigh and combed his fingers through his hair. He didn't want to think about that now, it was too much stress for one day. Instead he nudged Izaya with his elbow a couple of times and asked as casually as he could. "What do you want to do?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Another uneventful chapter :3<em>**


	13. Chapter 13

Izaya was shirked from a passive stance to sitting up straight away when he fully processed what Shizuo had so casually mumbled underneath his breath. For the second time, Izaya knew he was about to show weakness in front of him.

"It's not like I want to die, Shizuo," he snapped.

Immediately realizing the error of his ways despite their bet, Izaya shut up again, he clamped his mouth and then shrugged, regarding Shizuo's second question. He had no idea what he wanted to do, after taking in Shizuo's attitude, it was something along the lines of; 'nothing with you'. He let out a dramatic sigh and then glanced out the window, so, this was the pathetic and boring view from Shizuo's lovely spacious apartment, was it?

"How about... we play a game." Izaya shrugged again, looking up at Shizuo, trying not to think his recent thoughts. Bent on dying? Hah! No way Izaya Orihara actually was giving IN to death's hands, no, it was more like he was sick of facing death every day, because that's all he received from actually trying to live his life.

"Like... I don't know, Shizu-chan, something little kids play." Izaya was caught up in his own thoughts. Actually, if he could rewind time to when he played games like hide and seek, and board games inside when it was wet, he definitely wouldn't hesitate.

"Actually... it's up to you," Izaya said a little softer, trying to be kind, and inwardly screaming and gagging on his pride, he continued speaking. "I'm sure whatever you choose will be fun, right?"

* * *

><p>Shizuo almost looked a tiny bit taken back by Izaya's sudden outburst. He was usually always so annoyingly calm and collective, and barely every showed if he was mad or annoyed, unlike Shizuo. He had learned to just let all his anger out and not hold it in. As much as he hated violence, he couldn't help but get mad over everything that tap danced on his nerves, which was almost everyone.<p>

"The hell-...You want to play a CHILD'S game?" Shizuo raised an eyebrow curiously at Izaya's choice of excitement. He thought for a minute, trying to list any games that he knew of, but it was hard for him.

'The only kids game i played was gold fish, and that was when Kasuka was actually willing to...'

Kasuka was always so nonchalant and stoic about things, so he never did play games or done anything that was too exciting for him, and none of the other kids wanted to play with him in fear of ticking him off and earning broken bones. His thoughts were cut short when he heard Izaya's voice and he had to push down a small blush when he noticed how soft he flea had spoken. There was no evident of teasing or slyness at all. It was slightly alluring, actually. Shizuo cleared his throat quickly to shake the thought before grabbing a square pack of cards that were on a small desk next to the couch. "You like trivia shit, don't you?"

He asked while flashing the pack that read '50 questions' on the front of it."Shinra gave this to me a while ago..something about strengthening your friendship with someone...or some crap like that."

* * *

><p>Izaya sat up properly to investigate what Shizuo had piked up. Geez, wasn't Shinra just always there with a solution when they needed one? Izaya scoffed at the mention of his name. That guy was no good. He had made assumptions... assumptions that made Izaya feel hot when he thought about them. There was no way that was true, where in hell would he have even gotten that idea before? Izaya confirmed that if there was anyone that was going to fall for anyone in this 'friendship', it was Shizuo. Even so...<p>

As Izaya looked up at him, he realised the praise he'd been serving him without even realising, Izaya sighed in releif. At least it was inward praise. Shizuo made him feel safe, what could he say? He had blown off the people staring at them easy. For selfish reasons, but it still served for Izaya's benifit. At the same time it made him feel ashamed. Dead ashamed that, Izaya was leaching off of him. And now people knew it.

"Strengthen a friendship? It's perfect for us, Shizzy," Izaya grinned, crawling clsoer to Shizuo on the couch. He knelt in front of him eyeing the cards curiously. "Well, teach me how to play, then."

Shizuo inwardly twitched at the nickname Izaya had come up with. Why did they have to be so stupid? He questioned over and over again in his head. Nobody would be able to look intimidating with a name like 'Shizzy' or 'Shizu-chan.' They sounded like dog names to him. He was actually debating if he should make Izaya a stupid pet name, just to get on the fleas nerves. He shrugged that thought off and quickly tuned back into what they were doing.

"It's pretty simple." Shizuo said with a shrug as grabbed a book from the table and set the stack of cards between him and Izaya, straightening them out before he continued to explain the game. "The cards have questions on them and each person takes a turn with picking up a card and asking it." He picked up one of the cards to show a demonstration and scanned over it, reading the question. "In what situations do you feel completely at peace, or comfortable..?" Well, that defiantly felt awkward asking it to his enemy.

* * *

><p>Izaya let out a little 'hm' in acknowledgement that he actually understood the game. He was looking forward to it, to say the least. He couldn't definitely use this against Shizuo in the long run. He smirked; a little cheeky smirk as he cross his legs. "No dishonest answers... hm, sounds fun."<p>

Izaya leaned over Shizuo's shoulder slightly, moving forward so he could look at the card he had picked up, reading it, extremely interested in what sort of questions this game would ask.

Izaya was actually feeling hopeful, it was a promising game, he would at least get to know Shizuo... which made him cringe, but it was still promising. To what, Izaya had no idea. He didn't know why he was excited.

"Eh? What situations?" Izaya bit his lip, when he realised he was doing so he shook his head and let out a sigh. He could answer honestly - Izaya felt at peace only truly once in the past ten years, the previous day.

When he was with Shizuo, alone, and neither of them were tense or holding a grudge for each other, when he was leaning against Shizuo's chest. Izaya mentally stuck his tongue out in disgust, and was horrified when he realised he was doing it in real life as well.

He shook his head at his thoughts, and then pulled a rather innocent face. "Why, when I'm naked, Shizu-chan. In bed. You know, bathing in the afterglow."

* * *

><p>Shizuo glanced at Izaya, noticing how close he leaned to him. The urge to take Izaya and throw him into the nearest wall still lingered in his body, and his hands twitched slightly at the thought. He couldn't help but think murderous things about the flea. After all, he was the main reason why his life was such a living hell in the first place. Considering how close Izaya was at the moment, it would be a perfect hit. There would be no way that he could move away fast enough to dodge it. Shizuo coughed slightly to get rid of the thought. It was only a week...he could handle it no sweat.<p>

"What the hell, I didn't need to know all that." A look of disturbance crossed Shizuo's face at the straight forward answer that was given to him. "You could have lied for all I care. I don't need the damned images!" How was he able to say it with such an innocent, calm looking face. Usually it was something that someone would find embarrassing to tell. Then again, he kind of expected it from Izaya. The guy had no restrain on him what so ever. A irritated sigh left Shizuo's lips before he motioned to the stack of cards. "Whatever, it's your turn."

* * *

><p>Izaya smirked at Shizuo's reaction, he could see his hands tensing, he could practically feel the anger and annoyance that eminated from the blonde male, but Izaya would pay no mind to it. He knew Shizuo would stop at nothing to get his revenge on Izaya, after all, Izaya hadn't exactly made his life easy, had he? He shook his head at his own thought as he took note of what Shizuo had said, not really having been listening to him. If this game was going to work, Izaya knew he had to stop being an ass. Because, he didn't want his last few days to be with someone who hated him, right? What the - then why the fuck had he chosen Shizuo?<p>

Mentally slapping himself, Izaya took a card, and raising it to his face he covered his hand with his mouth to stifle a laugh. Well, now, he had no idea of Shizuo had even done these kinds of things before, it would surprise him to know end.

Izaya turned the card around and waved it in front of Shizuo's face.

'Do you regret your first kiss?'

"Shizu-chan, have you even had a first kiss before?"

* * *

><p>Shizuo had to keep himself from making a distasteful face. Out of all the question in the deck of 50 cards, he had to get one that had to do with relationships? He really couldn't think of anything to reply to the question, not with Izaya sitting there holding back his small chuckles of amusement. Now he really wished that he could go back and chosen hide and seek or some crappy game like that, it would save him the embarrassment.<p>

With a heavy sigh he looked away and crossed his arms to think about it. Holding down a relationship with anybody was harder for him then it was for Izaya or anybody else. Most people feared him and didn't come 4 feet near him unless they had to. So getting a girlfriend was defiantly out of the question, especially since they thought he would hit them as soon as he got a little mad.

"Tch, of course I have you stupid flea.."

The thought made him angry but he soon shook it off and rolled his eyes about it. Ever since he met Izaya his anger had increased ten folds, and because of that he hadn't really even tried to look for someone. Sure, Tom had hooked him up with a couple of girls, but they meant absolutely nothing to him. One girl was actually bold enough to try and force herself onto him, which was pretty disturbing now that he remembered it.

"It was terrible."

He muttered under his breath.

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><p><em><strong>We're gradually getting closer to the part that me and my RP buddy are actually on writing atm, so chapter eventually may either get shorter, or it'll take much longer for me to update.<strong>_

_**thank you for your reveiws and kind words :)**_


	14. Chapter 14

Izaya could help but sputter a laugh at his host. So, Shizuo _had_ kissed someone? But, at the look on his face and after listening to his little mumble, it didn't sound like it was a very appetizing kiss.

Izaya giggled some more before he cocked his head to one side. "So, so, whose fault was it? It was yours, right? You're a bad kisser, aren't you Shizu-chan?"

Izaya had seen the way girls looked at Shizuo, even during high school there were a few that had liked him, but the man was far too monstrous to allow girls to come within three feet of him, Izaya was sure the only time they did was during assembly when they stood in line, even then most looked rather scared. Shizuo skipped a lot of assembly's back then... yes, Izaya had noticed. Because school was no fun without a play toy, right?

Actually, as he recalled, adjusting his position on the couch and looking down at his lap in thought, there was once quite a persistent girl who'd talked to Izaya about it, she'd regarded them as 'best friends', and Izaya had mislead her completely, she ended up broken, and Shizuo didn't even know that she ever liked him.

Even these days it was the same, girls thought Shizuo was attractive, ideal in outwards appearance, but none had the guts to go near him. Izaya made sure that most didn't. Because... if Shizuo was occupied with a girl, he'd have no time to 'play' with him. And that'd make his life worse. But now, Izaya wanted to occupy Shizuo for the next week.

Because he was unexpected and exciting.

Even if he was predictable and insecure.

"Well, your turn Shizu-chan."

* * *

><p>Shizuo growled at Izaya's questions, showing that if he didn't shut up soon then his face would meet the recently cleaned floor harshly. Of course he would drag out the answer that Shizuo had given him. The flea loved to try and gather as much information as he could, but Shizuo wouldn't satisfy him with an answer this time. He instead ignored them and reached over to grab another question card, reading it over in his head to see if he was willing to ask it to him. He let out a sarcastic snicker as he rolled his eyes before shoving the card towards Izaya.<p>

"What is your wildest fantasy?"

Shizuo was starting to wonder who made this game, or who came up with the questions for the cards. "You know what..."

One thing was for sure, after hearing Izaya's reply to the first question that he asked; he really did not want to hear the answer for this one. "Let's not play this anymore."

He tried to hold a straight face as he looked at the guy across from him. "Because we all know how this is going to end. You're going to say something disturbing, I'll finally snap, and then I'm going to attack you and most likely ruin this room."

* * *

><p>Izaya couldn't hold back a giggle when he heard the next question. "Seriously, what are these cards?"<p>

A wild fantasy? Izaya had to admit, what he was doing now was pretty damn wild, but he would never call it a fantasy. Even those who are suicidal in this world, still have some reason, some aspiration to live, no matter what. And right now, Izaya was in fact suicidal, Shizuo was his puppet, and Shizuo would kill Izaya so that Izaya didn't seem as weak as he would be if he let himself go.

He grunted as Shizuo decided he didn't want to play anymore. "Shizu-chan... it's not like you to give up." Izaya spoke slowly.

He did know what his wildest fantasy was. It was wild because it would never happen.

Inner peace and happiness. People who cared for him that he could care for in return.

Izaya couldn't stop himself as it slipped. "My wildest fantasy? I just... want to be happy. I'd go back in time, and change everything."

He immediately looked up when he realized how stupid he'd been, Izaya's hands covered his reddening face instantly. "Ahaha, Shizu-chan - ignore that! It was a joke."

* * *

><p>Shizuo let a scowling look pass his face before he went back to looking nonchalant. Did Izaya consider suggesting a different game giving up?<p>

"I'm not giving up; I just don't want to be mentally scarred." He defended the best he could without making him sound weak in any way. He shrugged it off, deciding that they might as well continue the card game since he couldn't think of anything else they could do. It wasn't his fault, he didn't usually have people over or to do things with besides Shinra and Tom.

"That didn't sound much like a joke to me." Shizuo disagreed, raising an eyebrow at the information broker and noting his reddening face. Was Izaya's little 'joke' something that he was actually truthful about? He couldn't help but think that it was, because the tone in his voice was far from joking in his mind.

"Could it be that the flea actually has other thoughts besides screwing with peoples' mind?"

Shizuo couldn't' help the smirk that crawled onto his face as he leaned a bit closer to Izaya, deciding to be the one to get under the others skin in this situation. He might as well entertain himself as much as possible while he spends time with his worst enemy.

* * *

><p>Izaya winced at Shizuo's first words, he never expected that the brute would actually be intelligent enough not to just shrug that off like a gorilla, or, perhaps it was more intelligent to have shrugged it off, because Izaya was falling further and further into this insecurity. Wanting someone to be there, to help him find his way out was totally futile. Because it seemed no matter what Izaya did, it was too late. People would always hate him.<p>

When he was sure his embarrassment had at least died down a little, he took his hands away from his face and looked up. Izaya wanted to snicker and announce that it was just to test Shizuo, he wanted to giggle and then without Shizuo's consent ask him another question, but he didn't.

Instead, Izaya narrowed his eyes at the blonde and with hate seeping through his teeth, he grit them, and he spoke; "Don't toy with me, Shizuo."

* * *

><p>Shizuo was actually surprised that Izaya didn't try to switch the roles around on them or try to mess around with his mind like he did basically every single day, and the fact that he was addressed by his full name instead of a stupid nickname caused him to falter slightly. Usually he was quick to think of a reply and somehow, someway make Shizuo's own comment backfire so that he would be agitated and mad for the rest of the day until he either talks to Celty or smoke more than four cigarettes.<p>

For some unknown reason though, Shizuo could feel the smirk that was painted on his face grow just a bit. He didn't know why, but he wanted to make Izaya mad, he wanted him to see just how annoying it was when he would do the same to Shizuo.

"Oh so now that the tables turn, you want to be the one that gets angry." He taunted, a smug look crossed his face for a split second while he bathed in his small satisfaction. It was twisted in its own way, and Shizuo couldn't help but feel like he was lowering to Izaya's standards. Though he pushed it aside, not bothering to worry about it. He just wanted to bath in the feeling of accomplishment for making someone like Izaya Orihara so angry.

* * *

><p>Izaya was beginning to get a little more agitated as time went on, but he didn't want to say anything, because Shizuo seemed to be enjoying this. He really liked hurting him... like everyone else.<p>

Just like everyone else who hated him.

Shizuo was just like them, after all. What was he doing, then? Izaya thought Shizuo was different, that Shizuo was more than just a monster. Why the hell could he even think that? Was he hoping for something more than what he had? Izaya was way in over his head. Nothing would change that he and Shizuo hated each other. Nothing would change that.

Izaya's anger didn't last long, with those thoughts seeping into the cracks that held the wall together; his sanity from his sadness, he just shook his head and looked down, biting his lip. "I'm not like you, Shizuo. I'm not just a stupid monster with no feeling for anyone else but myself."

Izaya placed his palm to his forehead as he spoke. He could feel that stupid lump in his throat rising again and he wanted to shove food down there to see if it would go away, but he wasn't hungry. At all.

"I do have emotions... I just held them back and now... I thought maybe..."

Oh, fuck. Izaya slapped a tear away from his eye and then curled into a ball. "I hope I'm satisfying you, Shizuo." He mumbled into the darkness of his arms.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And again with the 'pity me' Izaya C: <strong>_

**_Thank you so much for reading this! It means a lot ^u^_**


	15. Chapter 15

**_Just to point out, I am very aware that so far the story in flatlining, I think we're just building the relationship between Shizu-chan and Izaya very slowly. Probably because, in a lot of cases people write that Shizuo and Izaya are already secretly in love with each other... well, they actually hate each other (I think secretly_ _Izay_a_ WANTS Shizuo real bad - but Shizuo's hates for real QAQ) So it's going to be gradual. And, events will pick up soon. I know that it's kind of boring for now, bare with us, please ^^;_**

* * *

><p>If Shizuo didn't feel like an ass a minute ago, he surely did now. He didn't think that his teasing would lead to a sudden turn of events. All he really wanted to do was get a little pay back on Izaya for always being able to get under his skin or tap dance on his last nerve so easily. It killed him to no end when the sly black haired male could do it without even using much words, like he practice it for years to know just what to do or say to get on Shizuo's nerves. Shizuo felt his shoulder slump every ticking second as there was a silence between them. Well, this sucked. Not only did he feel like an ass but now he doubted that he would be able to just shrug it off like he did with so many other people that he had ticked off. Then again, why would that thought ever cross his mind when Izaya was defiantly not just a normal human that he could forget without effort. He let his head fall back against the back of the couch as an irritated groan escaped his lips. Why was he feeling so..regretful all of a sudden? It was stupid, he was suppose to be feeling completely satisfied with himself. He made the person that annoyed him since day one, the one who always tried to send police or thugs at him, THE Izaya Orihara cry! What better satisfaction is that?<p>

"Fuuucckkk..."

Shizuo got up off the couch after a couple of minutes and walked into the kitchen. There wasn't much in there, but he thought that maybe something to snack on would calm Izaya down, even if it is a little. He wasn't one to deal with people and their problems, so he really didn't know what to do besides do the things he seen on those dumb shows that he glanced at occasionally. Opening the fridge, he grabbed a small tube of ice cream and two cans of root beer soda. He also grabbed two cups before walking back into the living room, placing everything but a can of root beer on the table carefully.

"Would you stop calling me a damn monster. If I was one then I wouldn't have agreed to the deal.."

Shizuo grumbled before pressing the cold can against the back of Izaya's neck, wanted to see if it would work to get him to jump up. "Come on, get up. Where doing something different."

* * *

><p>Izaya remained behind the darkness of his hands, listening to Shizuo's groan of disdain. Of course, he had thought that Shizuo would find it satisfying to see Izaya cry, but he also knew that it could also annoy Shizuo to no end. The man was harsh when it came to other people, but Izaya knew that Shizuo actually had a soft streak in him somewhere, and it was probably no good that he wasn't facing off with it as he should.<p>

Izaya wasn't toying with Shizuo's mind, though. This time, Shizuo was toying with Izaya's mind. Because, Izaya had to admit - he thought that the blonde would welcome him in with open arms if he ever got to know this sensitive side that had developed in the past two weeks. He didn't know what would prompt him to even think such a thing, Izaya and Shizuo were two very different people, nothing would change that in the slightest.

He heard Shizuo get up and venture to the kitchen, however Izaya still remained where he was. he didn't care what Shizuo did anymore, he could leave Izaya alone for all that mattered, this deal was a stupid idea.

When Izaya felt something freezing press up against the back of his neck, instantly he jerked his head up, turned around to face the source, and backed away hurriedly, pretty damn shocked by it. When he realised who it was, Izaya let out a sigh of releif. Of course it was Shizuo. Stupid!

He stared at Shizuo wide eyed for a moment, before he relaxed and did as Shizuo said, standing p on agile legs, he stood there, waiting to see what the brute had in mind for them.

* * *

><p>Shizuo nodded to himself when he saw that Izaya was up. That was easier then he thought it would be. He sighed slightly before walking over and opening a closet by the bathroom, grabbing two hand towels and then traveled back into the kitchen to grab spoons that he forgot to grab before. He walked back over to Izaya and handed him the towels.<p>

"Your holding those."

He instructed before grabbing the rest of the stuff that had taken out, then motioned using his head for Izaya to follow him. Walking towards the door, Shizuo shifted most of the stuff to one of his arms so that he was able to open the door before walking out. His mind was on a stand still as he just focused only on their destination. He traveled up all the stairs before making his way onto the roof, placing everything in his arms on a concrete square that he found. By now Shizuo could tell that it was getting late because of the setting sun in the background, but it was still fairly warm outside so he didn't mind.

"I go here to clear my head..."

He spoke slowly while he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, half to make sure that they didn't get anything else on them, and half because the shirt was already ruined. That didn't mean that he liked to ruin it anymore then it already was though.

"You might as well do the same."

Shizuo sent Izaya a pointed look before taking the hand towels away and spread them out so that he could place everything in order to make a root beer float on it. It wasn't much but hey, it should do something. Most of the time sweets did.

* * *

><p>Izaya didn't have any problems with holding the towels, in fact he didn't have any problems in listening to Shizuo at all right then, he had a feelings he knew what Shizuo was going to do and he didn't know if he'd like something like that... because, Izaya had never been one for sweets. He knew Shizuo liked them, however he and Shizuo weren't exactly identical, no were they.<p>

He followed Shizuo, dragging his feet in a rather moping kind of way all the way to the roof, where Izaya look around at the sky. It really was pretty, and he hated to admit it but the temperature kind of made the area around them perfect. It wasn't too cold nor too hot.

Izaya listened to Shizuo as he set things up, he didn't speak a word. In fact, Izaya didn't know if he was staring at Shizuo in hate or awe, it wasn't everyday that he got this close to Shizuo without being smashed in the face, or, having something thrown at him. Izaya inwardly admitted to himself that he didn't hate it. He really didn't. Underneath that facade Izaya always knew that Shizuo wasn't just a monster, he had feelings as well.

Shizuo was misunderstood, as cliche as it sounded. However, Izaya wasn't about to try and figure him out. There was no point. He had attempted for years and years to try and understand the inner workings of Shizuo's mind, but Izaya still didn't know if it was simple or complicated. Or, if simple was better or worse.

Izaya handed Shizuo the towels as he took them, however he didn't wanted to make eye contact. He simply averted his gaze and watched Shizuo only when he wasn't looking.

"Shizuo..." Izaya sucked in a deep breath; "You know, you don't have to be so nice to me."

* * *

><p>Shizuo threw Izaya little glances every now and then, checking to see if he was still stable and had his mind together. It wasn't like he cared for him, is what he kept repeating in his head as he worked silently. Izaya was defiantly very different then how he use to be... that was for sure, and Shizuo couldn't help but think that he has had a drastic change between today and last week. He never really thought that he and the key of his angry would be less then ten feet away from each other, silent and just enjoying how peaceful it was. Well, he was since he hasn't have to deal with random thugs trying to cut him or , he didn't quite know about Izaya thought. One of Shizuo's eyebrows raise when he finally did hear the flea say something, even though it was playful and enthusiastic as he usually is, it was somewhere around a start.<p>

"I know that damn well. Just accept my pinch of kindness and shut up..."

He mutter under his breath as he finished setting everything up and sat next to the two glasses filled with root beer and ice cream. Any sane person would never show such an act of kindness to their worst enemy, but then again, Shizuo Heiwajima was not sane. One of the glasses were scooted closer to Izaya though, just in case he wanted to grab it. Shizuo didn't care if he did or not, as long as it did something to get him out of such a depressing state. It just wasn't the same when he wasn't able to chase around the flea and try to end his life. He use the spoon that he brought up with him to take a bit from his root beer float.

Shizuo then leaned back slowly until his back hit the concrete floor of the roof before he let out a yawn. It was already getting late, and all he really felt like doing on the top of a building to pass the time away is cloud watch and relax.

* * *

><p>Izaya studied the sky, just so he didn't have to watch Shizuo and his random act of kindness. Izaya was sure that in his usual state, seeing Shizuo work like this, even if it took very little energy and effort, just to appease him, well - it would have made him gag.<p>

But this time it was different. Izaya could, at that moment, have been doing what he usually did. But he didn't feel comfortable even thinking of those thing - save the occasional thought on human suffering to make him feel better about how they treated him, now. It was kind of alike to a rather large revenge streak, only it was dealt out with spare of the moment emotion. At least, when you acted out without thinking... it was kind of like displaying how you truly feel.

As Shizuo sat himself down, Izaya's gaze shifted back to the ground, and he gazed at the two beverages that had been made for the both of them. Izaya, very hesitantly sat down as well. He waited until Shizuo had laid back to make himself more comfortable, however his tense body was still uncanny, his knees tucked under one arm against his chest, whilst the other hand extended to his 'treat', to trace his middle finger around the circular rim of the glass.

"I quit my job," Izaya offered as a conversation starter. He figured Shizuo hadn't really had to carry out his speech with any other being very often, and so he glanced towards the sky again and hummed in thought. "But, I don't think it's a bad thing, you know?"

Was he seriously trying to have a rational conversation with this man?

"If you're tired, I don't mind if you sleep, you know. I didn't say you couldn't." Izaya smiled slightly to himself, aiming on having Shizuo not see how happy he was that the blonde was actually taking this deal more seriously than he'd have given him credit for.

* * *

><p>Shizuo let out a small sigh as he closed his eyes and just laid there, motionless besides the fact that his chest was rising and lowering every now and then. He wasn't trying to go to sleep or anything yet, he was just trying to rest his eyes and keep calm. He was actually really surprised by the fact that he stayed relatively calm today. Though there were some out burst and anger moments here and there, it wasn't as bad as any usual day. Then again, it was mostly Izaya that he would lash out at when he was agitated or his job with collecting debts now that he thought about it.<p>

Pushing that thought aside, he opened an eye to glance at Izaya in a lazy matter, barely hearing his small conversation starter. The information caused him to raise in eyebrow. When did he do that? Shizuo thought that Izaya loved his job, he sure did look like it when he was being a troll and causing peoples lives to go down hill with only his words and a couple of actions. He couldn't but let some thoughts wonder back and forth in his mind. Where was he planning on doing to make money now? And how was he going to continue to live without - He stopped himself from asking anymore questions in his head, remembering that Izaya was actually planning on letting himself die by Shizuo's hands as soon as the deal that they made was over.

He still couldn't understand why he would even think of a deal like that one, and he was pretty sure that he would never understand why Izaya would want to.

"Im not tired," He muttered under his breath, though it was obvious that he was slowly losing energy and becoming drowsy. This was new, he usually was never able to sleep until around 1 o'clock in the morning, and here it was, sunset, and he was feeling exhausted.

"Just...Keep talking..or something...Your job, I thought you found it entertaining.."

He replied, figuring that as long as he heard someone talking, then he wouldn't doze off easily.


	16. Chapter 16

_**I would just like to say, that we know it's taking a long time during our updates, it's just - where we're posting from at the moment is horrifically close to where our story is up to, and we have a large time difference, so that means that yes, it will take a little while longer to post updates, but no more than four to five days, which isn't much really. ^-^**_

* * *

><p>Izaya glanced towards Shizuo when the male stated he wasn't tired, it was pretty darn obvious that Shizuo was dozing off in a very un-subtle way. He couldn't help finding it amusing, and he shuffled a tiny bit closer to Shizuo, gradually moving even closer as he spoke. It was as if he knew he didn't have to be scared of the blonde, Izaya really wasn't. He was just... threatened by him in all honestly. Though Shizuo was feared, he was still liked. And he and Shizuo were paired off a lot since they really did hate each other. To any normal person it'd scream some kind of competition. To Izaya, it was giving up.<p>

"I'm sick of it. Like I said, I'm... bored... with making people suffer," he lied. Only a little. He technically was bored with it, he was also growing to hate it. It was like he couldn't live in his weird bubble of a world where love and friendship didn't even matter. Not that it did matter now. Nothing mattered now.

Izaya bit his lip as he realized he was sitting pretty much right beside Shizuo's head. The temptation to reach down and touch his hair - was definitely dead strange. But it was in there somewhere. Then again, when had Izaya been anything but strange?

Instead, Izaya, in a very tentative and sly way, moved his hand to the side a little, allowing the back to brush along the dyed strands of Shizuo's blonde hair 'accidently'. It was soft. Softer than Izaya expected.

"Anyway, if you fall asleep I'm not going to carry you. So don't."

* * *

><p>Shizuo listened to the other talk and found himself nodding his head to show that he was still awake, though his nodding was done unconsciously. The half drowsy state was really messing with his mind at the moment and he didn't quiet know if he was understanding what Izaya saw in his job that he didn't see anymore or not.<p>

"That's surprising...to say the least..."

He said quietly. Izaya was mainly known for entertaining himself without others pain and finding games to play with peoples lives. Along with giving out special information for a certain high cost. He loved humans, so why would he suddenly become bored of them? It puzzled Shizuo, and he wanted to question him more, but instead of words escaping his lips, a small yawn did and he positioned himself to be able to get more comfortable. If he kept this drowsy state up then he would actually fall asleep without knowing it at all.

"Tch, I'm... not going to fall asleep..."

Though he knew that that was a big lie, since he was getting comfortable and still had his eyes closed, loose as they were, they were still closed and relaxed enough for sleep to claim him if given the chance.

"You wouldn't be able to carry me anyway...your too weak..."

A very small, barely noticeable smirk crawled onto Shizuo's lips as he spoke teasingly.

* * *

><p>Izaya glared at Shizuo for the last of his words. It was all too clear that yes, Shizuo was going to fall asleep - and he was childishly denying it to remain with this upper hand he had with Izaya at that moment.<p>

However, the man's last words sounded like more of a challenge. Too weak? Sure, Izaya couldn't lift a fucking truck but he had to allow himself some protection other than running away.

He just couldn't face up to Shizuo... when he was awake.

"I'm not physically weak Shizuo, just emotionally weak." Izaya picked up his root beer float, and poked at it slightly with his spoon. He wasn't that hungry or in need of any type of liquid at that moment, though he was definitely grateful for Shizuo for going out of his way to make it for him. Slowly, he set it down, and stood up, stretching slightly. At a short glance out towards the horizon of the city, Izaya realized the sun was slowly dissapearing, as was Shizuo's denial. He turned back around and advanced even closer towards the blonde, to stand at the top of his head looking down on him with a smirk. "So, I will carry you if you don't get up, now. Because I'm one hundred percent sure that I'm able to."

* * *

><p>Shizuo, hearing Izaya's confident proposal to show that he wasn't weak, snorted out a tired laugh and opened his eyes to a slit so that he would be able to see Izaya's face. What was he talking about? Him carry Shizuo, the guy who was almost twice his size? That was like a small agile cat trying to carry a great Dane, it wouldn't end so well with the cat.<p>

"Alright...tell you what." He started as he closed his eyes once again, feeling too tired to even attempt to keep them open like he was doing previously.

"If you can carry me...or even lift me up... I'll do you any favor..." He trailed off as his body started to relax by itself. Maybe he should get up already, but he was being lazy and decided to wait a couple more minutes until he finally found the determination to sit or stand up. Now that he thought about it, he didn't even touch his root beer float that he'd made yet. That was a waste - making them; he would have to remind himself to save them in the fridge for later.

* * *

><p>Izaya smiled down at Shizuo. He was... well, he was a different Shizuo to what was generally displayed towards Izaya. Izaya had only seen this side of him when he was on the off-chance having a normal conversation with either Dotachin or Shinra, and Izaya had always felt somewhat envious that he couldn't bring that out, at the same time - he wasn't half as fun now as to when he was raging. Right?<p>

He crouched down in front of Shizuo's face and narrowed his eyes at him. If Shizuo didn't stand up soon, Izaya was definitely going to have to resort to dragging him, however though it seemed like a pretty nice deal that Shizuo had opted... there was nothing more Izaya wanted to ask for.

"Shizu-chan, please. I don't need your favors. You're clearly not very good at them." That was considering when he was trying to entertain Izaya with root beer floats, he ended up falling asleep.

"Get up, or I'll drag you back," Izaya spoke; "But I still say I can definitely carry you."

* * *

><p>Shizuo sighed before waving his hand lazily at Izaya, knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep on the roof anyway. It was too nerve wrecking and badly protect, anyone could come up there while he was resting and that wouldn't be the best thing.<p>

"Fine fine, whatever. Don't nag me."

He muttered as he sat up, barely dodging Izaya's face that he didn't notice was pretty close to him. He was to lazy to even argue back with him. Glancing around, he sighed when he realized that heforget that he had brought the ice cream up there as well, and now he could see that it was clearly melted due to being neglected and off to the side. Oh well, he could always buy more. A look of amusement crossed his face as he processed the words that the black haired male said.

"Ha! yeah right. You'd snap those twig like arms of yours."

To add on to his observation, Shizuo pinched the end of Izaya's sleeves and lifted it up, showing how flimsy he considered them. Then he let it fall out of his grip and turned to the items that he brought up, collecting everything in his arms besides the two root beer floats.

"Your grabbing those since my hands are full."

* * *

><p>Izaya pouted, feeling actually remotely humiliated by Shizuo's attitude.<p>

He gave him a glare when he pulled up his sleeves, causing his arm to lift slightly, and he continued that glare until Shizuo let go.

"Never had you down as the type who teased when you liked someone, Shizu-chan," Izaya raised his eyebrows, just to tease Shizuo back. Mainly to annoy him.

He bent down and picked up the root bear floats, and then staring out to the city once more, he let maybe the millionth sigh for that evening escape his lips. This was the most pathetic world possibly known to man. This was, something worth being under a shoe. Or that was how Izaya saw it, as he turned away from the buildings. Ikebukuro was now bathed in an aftergloss of the light emenating from the top of what had descended, and Izaya was glad. If he slept, he'd feel better. When he slept... he felt much better.

Izaya began to make his way to the stairwell on his own, he really didn't want to be absorbed in his thoughts, instead, he focused on his feet.

'Maybe I should get new shoes? What... there's nothing wrong with these... is there? I feel plain.'

Pointless ramblings kept his mind away from what damaged and depressed him, and he continued those thoughts for as long as he could.

* * *

><p>Shizuo felt his words get jammed right back into his throat because of Izaya's comeback that he didn't expect, causing him to cough slightly and hunch over. He knew that it was to get him back for all the teasing that he had done today, but that seriously made his mind freeze up. His body refused to make any sudden movements and he stood there wide eye, even after Izaya had grabbed the two sweets and sauntered down the stair.<p>

"T-the hell? Where did you come up with an inference like that!"

He finally yelled after shaking off the shock and fixing his posture, though he doubted that Izaya would acknowledge his outburst considering that he had unmistakeably won their back and forth after Shizuo failed for a quick reply.

He was actually glad that Izaya had went on without him, because it would have been pretty embarrassing to be seen with a light blush on his cheeks from the words that were directed to him.

"Damn him..."

Teasing Izaya because he had taken a fancy to him? HA! That was about as true as saying that unicorns existed and they could fly whenever they pleased!

...So...Why wasn't that blush leaving Shizuo's face yet?...And why was he feeling a weird sensation in his stomach...?

He decided that it was just some type of illness that he had caught and planned to go visit Shinra tomorrow for a check up. With a small grunt he readjusted the material in his hand and made his way downstairs to catch up with Izaya and put everything away.


	17. Chapter 17

Izaya giggled slightly at the comment Shizuo made after he had made it down the stairwell, however he was sure that he was going to be hit across the face if he said anything else. Instead, Izaya ignored it completely, and kept the thought of Shizuo's facial expression.

Back in the blonde's apartment, Izaya hooked the toe end of his shoe under the bottom of the fridge and pulled it open, he placed the root beer floats inside and then shut it, and he really hadn't touched his. He wondered... should he say thank you for it? He should at least say something; after all, he was surprised Shizuo would even try to cheer him up like that.

He bit his lip. What should he say? Izaya walked back to the couch, sinking back down into it. Guh, why was it so nerving just to mumble a simple thank you? He'd done so millions of times before! Or maybe, it was because many other times those words had been a mocking sarcastic and automatic retaliation to simple humane gestures. This time, Izaya was truly thankful.

Anyway, nothing he had done in front of Shizuo that day... or that one time... that stupid one time... had exactly been ethical. Right?

* * *

><p>Shizuo let a heavy sigh leave his lips as he finally made it inside of his apartment. It was a lot warmer then he remembered, and the nice warm feeling was aiding him and feeling drowsy once again, but he shook it off long enough to get everything put away. His eyes glanced to Izaya, wondering what he was doing. It was still a bit weird, and very unnatural, to see the informant sitting on his couch so causally, though he did seem a bit stiff. But it was like they had never held a grudge against each other, like they had been friends since the moment they met in Raira academy and that Shizuo didn't hate his guts the very moment he saw the black haired male.<p>

The thought cause the feign blond to hold back a snort as he walked into the kitchen so that he could throw away the empty root beer cans and place the melted ice cream in the freezer to once again freeze itself. Then he proceeded past the living room with a loud yawn and towards his room where he changed out of his everyday outfit and into some loose track pants and a plain short sleeve shirt. The white shirt that he'd worn had to be trashed though, which angered him, but he would just find the guy tomorrow and beat the living shit out of him for ruining a perfectly good shirt. After Shizuo was done changing his cloth, he walked back into the living room and sat on the couch. Well, it was more like he flopped down since he was tired, and leaned his head against the back of the chair.

"Alright flea, it's past sunset and I'm tired as hell. If we're not doing anything else then I'm going to bed."

Another loud yawn was let out and Shizuo stretched before ruffling his hair.

* * *

><p>Izaya sat in complete silence as he watched Shizuo until he left the room; he wasn't intrigued by the man or anything... just interested. Actually, Izaya was interested in what Shizuo did on a day-to-day basis. It seemed that at his home, Shizuo wouldn't get up to much, the place wasn't as fancy as his own apartment back in Shinjuku, yet it still had something about it that made it feel quite home-like. Not to Izaya, of course...<p>

He pouted at his own thoughts, damn, why did Shizuo have to treat him kindly? He did say... well, because Izaya told him to of course, but he didn't know Shizuo hated him this much. If he was willing to do these things, nice acts, just because he was going to have the pleasure of snapping his neck, anything that Shizuo was planning to kill him by - in the end, it all came down to that.

And Izaya had to learn to accept his fate, in which he had put his life literally in the hands of someone he wasn't sure he knew. Then again, he wasn't sure if Shizuo was the _only_ person he knew.

When Shizuo sat back down, Izaya hadn't even realized he'd closed his eyes, and he glanced towards the man wearily, nodding at his words. But first, there was something Izaya wanted... felt like he had to say.

"You can sleep, then," was all he could muster.

How come Shizuo was letting Izaya boss him around? That wasn't part of the plan... though it was still good to know he had some control. He bit his lip as he averted his gaze, a stupid and un-godly blush of what Izaya deemed to be shame and embarrassment made it's way over his cheeks from something so fucking simple!

"...Thank you."

* * *

><p>This whole day had been a bit weird and unnatural for Shizuo. He had actually tried to cheer the flea up after watching him spiral into a depressed state. Though it was with something as simple as making root beer floats and sitting on top of the roof, the point is that he had still tried after insulting him.<p>

For a moment actually, he had started to believe that this was all some kind of huge prank that Izaya was playing to get under his skin. That he was just pretending to be this broken so that he could in turn sneak up behind Shizuo and back stab him when the blonde least expected it to happen. He thought that if he, even for one second, decided to put his guard down then he would be unmistakably digging his own grave.

But the deal was so good that he couldn't just let it go. The opportunity to finally be able to smash the fleas head against the concrete, to spill his blood, was something that Shizuo thought to be unrealistic. That is, until today.

Shizuo shifted in his spot on the couch, feeling oddly uncomfortable for some reason after he imagined Izaya on the floor, lifeless. Wasn't that what he wanted?

With a quick motion, he got up and ruffled his hair nervously, hearing Izaya give the okay for him to finally get some sleep. He was really starting to consider himself sick, since he never did feel like this when he and Izaya were battling it out on the streets, tearing through everything. But now just thinking about it made his stomach turn. He figured a good night of sleep would help a lot. As soon as he was about to walk to his room though, he stopped in his tracks and backed up a little to get a better look at Izaya.

'_W-what... did he just say...?_'

Was he just thanked by his enemy?

And just like that, all of the doubt in Shizuo Heiwajima's mind simply washed away, leaving no trace of being there and he averted his eyes anywhere but at Izaya.

"U-uh...yeah... Y-your welcome."

He quickly made his way to his bedroom and flopped onto his bed, burying his face into his pillow to stop the upcoming blood rushing to his face.

"I seriously need a doctor..."

He muttered before slowly dozing off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p><strong><em>And so, here we are, literally three or four posts away from where we are writing from (chapters will consists of FOUR posts from now on at a time), I decided to post this one quickly because the next few will take up to a week between posts. I hope that's okay with everyone who actually reads this! Thank you all very much, your criticism and comments are very helpful, every one of them counts~!<em>**


	18. Chapter 18

Izaya watched Shizuo walk away after a stuttered backfire of his own manners, it made Izaya smirk slightly. Even though, he'd placed himself desperately at Shizuo's feet, it still felt like he had common ground, like he was still the one in control. In a way, he was. Until Shizuo would kill him.

An almost unnoticeable pout made itself barely known on his features, as he realised Shizuo hadn't really given him a blanket or a pillow. And it was getting pretty darn cold.

He laid down for a moment, his head leaning up against the small bump from the arm of the couch, as he thought about it. It was clearly obvious he was sleeping on the couch, but, Shizuo hadn't even fed him dinner. Nor had he offered him a shower. Wait, was Izaya even meant to be staying there? He had no idea! He didn't know what was and wasn't part of his plan, he hadn't exactly thought anything through, which was definitely more than odd for him. Well, since Shizuo couldn't do anything to Izaya until the last day - or he could, be Izaya had confidence that he was far too dense to try anything - Izaya may as well push a few buttons.

He stood up off of the couch, and followed in the direction Shizuo had walked, clearly towards his own bedroom. When he came face to face with a door, Izaya paused. He actually felt a little nervous, a little worried about what Shizuo would react like. It was not long that he'd gone from the couch to his room, that didn't give him much time to change, to prepare his bed, to brush his teeth... man, he must be tired. Or just horrifically lazy.

Which reminded Izaya of something...

Now, without hesitation, he pushed the door handle down and flung open the door, letting out a sigh of releif when he noticed Shizuo was just asleep.

Just sleeping.

Izaya's footsteps were quiet as he made his way towards the bed, however he gave up trying to sneak up to the male, it was probably best he woke up before Izaya was within an arms distance from him. When Izaya reached the side of the bed, he didn't even want to think about how peaceful Shizuo looked when he was asleep - how cliche!

Instead, he poked him annoyingly in the cheek, then tugged on his ear... then pinched his neck.

"Shizu-chan - wake up!"

At the lack of response, Izaya decided to raise his voice a little.

"Shizu-chan, it's morning now! Wake up!"

Shizuo was an idiot, right? So... maybe he'd fall for that?

* * *

><p>Shizuo was having probably the best nap that he has had in a long while. He didn't usually sleep as much as he wanted to, or was suppose to (Which was said by Shinra), because of being a debt collector and working mid night shifts or staying up passed 5am with Tom when their prey unfortunately got away...Or was tossed far away by Shizuo himself after somehow ticking him off good enough. So to actually be able to go to bed this early, and feeling this exhausted in the first place, was really new to him.<p>

It was nice, it relaxed him a lot more then smoking could so he liked to soak in as much sleep as he could get out of the hours.

But like in real life, all good things must sooner or later come to an end, which happened to his sleep when he felt something touching him.

At first he completely ignored it, pushing the thought of waking up and checking to see what on earth it could be that was bothering him so much. He thought that maybe it was something that he forgot to take off of his bed that was poking and probing him on the cheek and neck in such an annoying manner.

If he wasn't so sleepy at the moment then he would have kicked or swatted at it until it went away, but instead he just resorted to pulling his pillow over his head to try and take cover from whatever it was.

Who knows, maybe it would go away or get pushed off the bed with all of his moving around.

The blonde was seriously trying to avoid waking up at all. He didn't want to, he wouldn't want to even if the apartment was on fire and was about to collapse and squish him to death. He was just that tired.

A very annoyed, very tired grunt passed his lips when he recognized a voice calling him by a dreadful nick name after all the poking and probing was over...

Which only meant one thing.

Reluctantly, he slowly pushed the pillow from his head, messing up his hair more then it was in the process, and growled at Izaya lowly as he slowly sat up.

"Damn it...Are you serious..."

He glanced around his room very slowly, completely missing how dark it was outside, and then turned his gaze to Izaya, sending him a lazy glare. Though he doubted that it was intimidating with how his head lolled to the side every now and then.

Had it really passed an hour yet? He felt like he's only been asleep for about 5 minutes!

* * *

><p>Izaya giggled slightly at the look on Shizuo's face, it really did seem as though he was having a fantastic rest. Oh well, all is fair in love and war... to be honest, this was probably neither.<p>

He took another step towards the bed, Shizuo looked pretty darn helpless half asleep, and Izaya shot him a sly smirk as he made sure their eyes lingered together, so he could confidently ask him all of his questions.

Firstly, he addressed the obvious. "Do I get to stay here, Shizu-chan?"

Secondly, Izaya cocked his head to the side slightly, and yes, he was aiming at being totally annoying. "Where do I sleep then? If it's on the couch, why didn't you think about getting me a pillow? Or a blanket?"

He straightened up to change his smirk to a smile, and he placed his hand on his stomach. "And I'm hungry. I don't like sweets as much as you, Shizu-chan. That means that even though you thought you could magically cheer me up with them, I require proper sustenance."

Izaya waited for Shizuo's reaction, whether it be telling him to get the fuck out, or even, perhaps the obedient Shizuo he'd seen a lot of in the past few hours would show itself again. Either way, Izaya would be entertained.

* * *

><p>Shizuo didn't fully process anything Izaya had said until he had shaken some of his drowsiness off. The most he could catch was every other word coming from the informants mouth. When he was finally able to pay attention though, and was able to gather all of Izaya's words and put them into complete sentences, he growled lowly. His hands twitched to try and keep his anger level under control, but like always, It fails.<p>

"Izzaayyyaaa-kuuuunn..."

He tried to kicked off the covers on his feet, but when he failed to successfully remove them from constricted his legs, he just decided to lean over to grab the front of the other guys' very fluffy looking jacket. When he was able to grab a fist full for both hands like he wanted to, he proceeded to shake the annoying flea with every word that he said.

"You. woke. me. up... for something as stupid as questions and tending to your personal needs?"

Shizuo doubted that he would every be able to have such a nice sleep like the one that was just taken from him moments ago. He really hoped that Izaya was satisfied with himself for finding the freaking PERFECT time to annoying him.

"If anything, You could have found yourself something to fuckin' eat in the fridge!"

When he was finally able to getting the tangled sheets from his legs, he stood up and took hold of the others' wrist, dragging Izaya behind him as he stormed towards the kitchen and motioned inside with a wave.

"Anything! Anything at all you could have grabbed from here!"

He continued to drag him along as he came to a small closet in the hallway and slammed it open, revealing extra blankets and pillows that were available for him. There were times when Tom had to stay over, so he had always came prepared. Just in case.

"Voi - freaking - là! Extra crap for you!"

And lastly he dragged him back towards his room and shuffled through his dresser, finding jogging pants and a plain blue shirt. It was probably to big, but Shizuo really didn't care at the moment. He was to focused on getting back into bed.

"Here, something to change into!"

After shoving the cloths into Izaya's arms, he turned him around placed his hands on his shoulders, stirring him to the door.

"There you go. Bathrooms to the right, have a fucking fantastic stay!"

With that said, Shizuo backed up and slammed his door before going back to his bed, flopping down on it, though now he could barely go to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Give us ideas of what they can dooo on their days of the weeekkkk *0* <em>**


	19. Chapter 19

Needless to say, that the whole time that Shizuo was dragging him around, Izaya was walking stiffly, trying not to be pushed around so easily, why wasn't Shizuo to the point of killing him? Izaya could only think as he was being showed the places in which he had so rudely requested for, that Shizuo was really taking this seriously. This was it. This was his last days on this pathetic planet. Izaya had to wonder, was he happy or sad that he was leaving?

When Shizuo shoved clothes in his arms, Izaya still stood there, trying to maintain his smirk as much as he realised he had to try and hold it back, it was definitely amusing. So, this was Shizuo being nice? When the door slammed behind him, Izaya turned around again to face it, Shizuo's hands on his shoulders were so rough, he still felt as if they were there.

He stared at the door for a moment, letting that smirk fade, trying to think of something else annoying to say.

After all, the last word in this was rightfully his.

In the end, he adjusted his feet so he could swiftly make a dart for the bathroom after he spoke, just in case Shizuo was going to break the door down on his head. You never knew with that guy, he was unpredictable. At the same time, Shizuo was so obvious.

"Have a nice sleep, Shizu-chan! Oh - and please keep your dreams under PG, for me~?"

Izaya had to quickly made a turn for the bathroom, he was used to running away from Shizuo, he wasn't afraid of him, he was simply a fan of this cat and mouse game that they'd entered into long ago. It was entertainment, wasn't it? Besides, it was unlikely the blonde would follow him into the bathroom.

Izaya managed to lcok himself inside the rather smaller area, compared to his own, at least. Still, he wasn't complaining. It was surprisingly clean.

He dropped Shizuo's clothes on the edge of the bathtub, before turning around the enter that glass tube, known as a shower. Izaya was a fan of these, he really was.

When the temperature was perfect - to him - he stepped inside, although he had to sit down as he felt the water flow over his body, warming him up seemingly finally.

It seemed like a weird day, and this was definitely a weird end to it. He'd never imagined he'd even be able to step foot into Shizuo's apartment with the giant's consent let alone take a shower in his bathroom. It was almost like they were...

Izaya instantly began to shake his head from side to side, he placed his hands over his face. Apparently his thoughts were vulnerable as well.

He could feel his face heating up with every thought, though it seemed so easy to play stubborn, Izaya would put it up to the heat of the shower. Then again, as he glanced over in the direction of the tub through the steamed up glass, he rubbed a circle through the mist so he could see the clothes Shizuo had lended to him properly.

He was going to wear Shizuo's clothes. He had asked him to be his friend, to care about him in a friendly way... really he could have just kicked him out and told him to go get his own clothes, it was only about eight or nine.

He knew the heat in his face definitely wasn't the shower, now. This was weird. Izaya still couldn't figure out if it was a good thing or a bad thing. It made him sick that he was so unsure.

* * *

><p>Shizuo growled and glared at the door, hoping that maybe he had some type of super vision that allowed him melt someones head through a door, because that was what he wanted to do to Izaya right now.<p>

He sighed as he laid on his bed, his arms sprawled out on either side of him as he starred up at the ceiling above that didn't really interest him at all. He just needed something to keep his mind occupied until he was able to go back to sleep. But after five minutes of laying there motionless and thoughtless, he finally realized something.

That it was useless.

No matter how many times he tried to close his eyes and relax himself against his blankets and pillows that surrounded and somehow comforted him a little, no matter how many times he tried to zone out all the sounds going on in his apartment so that he could go back into a dreamless sleep once again, he just couldn't.

It sucked...

It sucked so bad that Shizuo didn't even know if he should be angry or just depressed about not being able to get as much shut eye as he wanted or needed to for himself. And it was all thanks to Izaya Orihara for deciding that it would be fun and/or funny to wake him up in the most annoying way possible just to tend to his needs, ones that he could have clearly gotten for himself if he wasn't so bent on annoying Shizuo until he died.

Trying to get into a better, more comfortable position to hopefully aid him in his quest to sleep, Shizuo turned on to his side, curled up, and starred at the white wall that greeted him with nothing but a blank surface.

Nothing was working...

Nothing!

He even tried the old counting the imaginary sheep that jumped over your head, or talking to himself until he was able to get tired. But it only made him feel like he was losing his mind and needed to be examined by Shinra.

Then again, he might as well be losing his mind anyway since he was actually letting Izaya sleep over his apartment. He was sure that if he told Tom or Celty about it, then they would be extremely shocked to see that the young informant was still alive, well, and very well breathing through his lungs.

Speaking of the flea, Shizuo finally took noticed that the shower water was still running, meaning that Izaya was in there either finishing up, or he was probably just in there wasting water to get on his nerves more then he did today. Shizuo had the urge to get up right then and there and flush the toilet so that he would be able to get revenge. But he did want to get up, and the door was probably locked anyways. So Shizuo just tried to focus on going back to sleep.

"Damn it...Damn it damn it damn it damn it!"

He sat up and walked to the kitchen, fixing himself a cup of warm milk to calm his nerves and hopefully put him to sleep.

* * *

><p>After Izaya had accomplished the task of spending a hell of a long time in the shower on purpose, turning the heat lights in the bathroom on to up Shizuo's electricity bill, and wasted most of the blonde's shampoo, he decided he was finally bored. The informant stood up again, careful not to slip as the heat of the shower had only made his drousy, and he turned the taps off, darting out of the shower in persuit of warmth via a towel.<p>

It seemed, as he dryed himself off, that he was really bent on causing Shizuo as much trouble as he could. He didn't know what it came down to, however.

Was it because he enjoyed seeing Shizuo pissed off and upset?

Was it because he was sick of seeing that nice side to him, because it was boring?

Those options seemed highly unlikely, for one sole reason. Izaya had only felt the need to thank the man he hated when Shizuo acted nice, he didn't hate it at all, it had really eased off the strange disatisfaction that had been engulfing him.

Actually, on top of that, Izaya did enjoy teasing Shizuo. He still wanted to observe his reactions, however it didn't seem it was because he liked seeing Shizuo so pissed off anymore because it was entertaining. It was still damn entertaining, but Izaya knew the real reason for his actions.

He wanted Shizuo to forget that other side of Izaya he'd seen that day. He wanted him to forget, that he could ever allow himself to become so vulerable in front of the one person he'd never wished to experience him in that way.

He pulled his underwear back on, and then proceeded with the clothes he had been given. Shizuo's shirt was huge on him, still, it was comfortable, and as he bundled up his own clothes and exited the bathroom, he actually felt the contrast from the heat to the cool of outside the heat lights extremely satisfying.

He did felt a lot more tied by then, Izaya dropped his clothes in the middle of the hall (and he left the heat lights on), and headed straight for the cupboard with the blankets in it. Pulling out a few that felt thick enough to warm him, he headed straight for the couch, completely disregarding the tall figure in the kitchen out of drousy haste to fall asleep.

Izaya sighed as he set himself up on the couch, and then pulled the blankets over his slowly cooling body. He didn't want to think of anything... he just wanted to sleep.

* * *

><p>Shizuo set his cup of hot milk on the counter and glanced around his kitchen. It was bare, a lot barer then he thought it was. Which meant that he would have to go out soon to fix that problem, but he was never one for shopping. Even if it was for a necessity like food. He just didn't like shopping at all in general because it was always something that he considered to be a waste of his time. And not only that, but it was always so time consuming to him and he never did get anything done afterwards.<p>

While he was deep in his thoughts about what he would have to get from the dreaded store that he was soon to visit, a warm sensation ran over his feet that caused him to look up.

It only meant that Izaya had FINALLY gotten out of the shower after spending basically more then thirty minutes in there. A glare made it's way onto Shizuo's face as he glanced at the figure who just made themselves comfortable in bundled blankets on the couch.

Seriously, who spends so long in the shower on purpose? And he knew that it was just to bug him. It was probably the only thing that the flea was actually good at doing, in Shizuo's opinion.

Shizuo was really starting to doubt if he should have given Izaya the okay to spend the night over. Who would do that with someone that they despised? And what if Tom came in the morning? How on earth would he explain to him what is going on without making it sound weird?

Shizuo picked up and downed the rest of his milk quickly before placing the cup in the sink, careful not to break it. He would just have to push everything aside until the morning hit once again. Then he'll figure what he should do. His mind was in too much of a hazy state to think anyways.

The milk had actually done something, because Shizuo had to muffle a small yawn from being heard. It wasn't as loud as the ones that he did before he had such a great sleep (And was rudely woken up), but it was good enough in his mind.

As he passed by the couch to get to his room, he kicked it. Though it wasn't hard enough to break it, but enough to cause it to slightly move.

"Bastard, don't go using up all my damn hot water."

And off to bed he went after sending Izaya one more glare. He almost tripped over the abandoned pile of bundle up cloth int he middle of the hall, and had to make a U - turn to turn off the lights that Izaya had left.

This guy, was he this messy at home or was it just because he was sleeping over?

Shizuo growled to himself before turning off the lights, flopped onto his bed and wrapping the covers around him. He would be able to sleep if he just kept his eyes closed for a while. It wouldn't be a deep sleep, but it would be close enough for him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Psht, how dare Shizuo interrupt Izaya's sleep like that.<strong>_


	20. Chapter 20

Izaya felt his eye lids growing heavier as he stared at the ceiling, trying to glance anywhere but the kitchen. He did know that Shizuo was there, after hearing shuffling, he didn't feel the slightest bit remorseful however that perhaps the reason he was drinking milk was because Izaya had completely disturbed his slumber.

It seemed as if he was sleeping rather peacefully. It was actually... Izaya huffed as he closed his eyes finally, and rolled over onto his side, curling up into a ball and placing one hand underneath the pillow out of complete habit.

It seemed Izaya served to receive a taste of his own medicine as he was just finally dozing into his sleep, he felt a jolt from the couch and his eyes snapped open.

He didn't really flinch, though Izaya wouldn't deny he was afraid.

Though it had been running through his mind, that Shizuo still had the chance to kill him earlier. If he was unsatisfied with the way Izaya was treating him. And Izaya knew he was pushing every one of Shizuo's fragile buttons.

He smirked at the man's words, relieved against all odds, and Izaya watched Shizuo walk away again, his eyes regaining their closed way.

It didn't take long after that, that Izaya fell asleep. It was the earliest he'd done so in a very long while.

* * *

><p>The morning had come way too early for Shizuo. It basically felt like he was sleeping for an hour, when really it was much more than that. He unconsciously shifted his position between his covers and bed to try and get comfortable. Then he let out a small, drawn out yawn as he stretched his arms and legs so that they wouldn't be stiff as he slept. Though he wasn't a morning person, Shizuo still felt like mornings had a very small importance to them, even if it was just a pinch.<p>

Like now, he had temporarily forgotten about any problems that he had faced yesterday and last night. All of that has been put behind him and it most likely wouldn't pop back up until something triggered it. Now, to him, it was a brand new day and there were new ways to start it. If only there were people and things that didn't ruin it so quickly though.

A small, buzzing sound caught Shizuo's attention, but he tried not to pay attention to it as he rested. All he wanted to do was grab some more time to sleep. But the sound continued to buzz, and the longer it buzzed the louder it got until finally he reached one of his hands from under the covers and stretched it out to the source of the noise next to his bed. When he pin pointed exactly where the source was, he lifted up his hand and brought it down forcefully as a fist to slam against the alarm clock disturbing his peace and quiet, like he did every day. Well, there goes another one. That's just another thing on his restock list.

Shizuo shrugged that thought off and slowly lifted himself up until he was in a sitting position. He ran his fingers through his tangled, messy mass of hair and yawned once again, trying to wake himself up a little. When he was sure that he wouldn't trip over anything, or stumble and fall, he got up out of his bed and shuffled lazily towards his bathroom to drain his system and splash water on his face. The whole time he was wondering if he had work today or not.

* * *

><p>When it came to morning, Izaya was only slightly stirred out of his slumber at first by a distant buzzing sound, he blinked twice, trying to recall where he was... although all Izaya could think about was how at peace he felt. Sleep was always the best time for him. If he ceased in getting his sleep, then he'd probably ask for the deal to become a pitiful three days rather than a week. His eyes shot open when it came to Izaya's senses, he had no idea where he was!<p>

It was around then that a loud crashing sound echoed through the apartment, and upon sitting up, and having his heart gradually slow down, he let out a sigh of relief, well, Shizuo was awake. That relieved feeling soon withered away, with the recollection, the sudden daunting feeling, seeping inside his mind, aching within his chest. Izaya's life wasn't as peaceful and perfect as the blackness behind his eyes when he was asleep. It was by some miracle that he didn't dream, and when he did... he couldn't remember it. It really made falling asleep the best thing he had to look forward to.

Izaya lay back down, once again resuming his sleeping position on the side. He closed his eyes.

He wasn't ready to open them just yet; he wasn't ready to face another day. Not yet.

Luckily, he was still tired, and gradually Izaya slipped back off into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

><p>Shizuo shuffled out of his bathroom after spending five minutes in there, still half asleep even though he had splashed his face multiple times with the coldest water that was allowed to run through the faucet. He grumbled when his foot was caught in the bundle of clothes that he had forgotten about last night, except now he was in too much of a sleepy haze to realize whose pile of clothes it was. Instead, he kicked it off to the side and continued towards his destination after hearing his stomach growl.<p>

The kitchen.

As he made his way towards the kitchen, he couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something, something that was considered important. Like there was something that he should check out before he continue to go on with his daily morning routine, but it simply would not come to mind no matter how many times he tried to remember. With a nonchalant shrug, Shizuo continued to walk to the kitchen; he figured that he would just remember it later anyways. Though as he passed the couch something caught his attention on it that made him stop in his tracks.

A lump of covers?

When did he put that there? He was confused, and actually started to think that maybe he was drunk last night. That could be the reason why he wasn't able to remember how that stuff got there. A perplexed look was plastered onto Shizuo's face as he tried to remember why they were there. He didn't sleep there, and Tom was probably tracking that guy from yesterday so it was unlikely that he had been there. So who could it be?

Shizuo's question was answered when he leaned over the back of the couch to get a better look. A very shocked look was plastered on his face when he saw Izaya sleeping on the couch. He snorted though, thinking about how his appearance now was nothing like his personality when he was awake...

But he wasn't awake...

A smirk made its way onto Shizuo's face before he walked into the kitchen and towards the sink, where he filled it with soap and water until enough bubbles were present. He scooped up a handful and walked back over to Izaya, spreading the substance over his face for what he would consider small payback, or just plain old boredom.

* * *

><p>Izaya wasn't usually a very heavy sleeper, though he must have been really worn out from all his ridiculous behavior, girl-like emotions and the turn of events of the previous day, because at first when he felt a slight wetness envelope certain areas of the skin of his face all he could do was let out a hum and stir slightly.<p>

Eventually however, it wasn't just a tickle from the edge of his blanket, it was actually becoming annoying. He raised his hand to his face, making an attempt to swat the wetness away; however it didn't quite work that way when his hand landed in a familiar texture.

Izaya's eyes shot open, and he immediately sat up, completely disregarding that he was sleeping on a couch.

He pretty much plummeted to the floor, and when he had regained his composure he sat up, rubbing one of his eyes and otherwise using his forearm to wipe off the substance on his face, mumbling to himself angrily.

"The fuck..." He stopped rubbing his eye and then glanced up, finally making out Shizuo's image he glared up at him angrily. Mornings were not his high point.

"What the hell is your problem?" He seethed through gritted teeth.

* * *

><p><em><strong>They are playful right now! ~3 building relationship =v=<strong>_


	21. Chapter 21

Shizuo let a smirk make its way onto his face as he leaned against the back of his couch to get a better look at Izaya, who had just tumbled to the floor in a heap of blankets. This was a new side of the black haired guy that Shizuo had yet to see, and he was mentally counting how many sides of Izaya he could get out before the end of the week could come.

By the look present on Shizuo's face, it was obvious that he was pleased with the reaction that he had earned from the informant.

"Ah, your awake flea."

He casually stated with a very small shrug of his shoulder, in an utmost uncaring way. His attention shifting from his cell phone that he had just pulled out of his pocket to the angry look that was planted on Izaya's face at the moment.

"I didn't know you rolled in your sleep though."

If he wasn't so bent on keeping a straight face on to make it seem like he was completely innocent in the act, then Shizuo would have undoubtedly busted out laughing then and there in front of Izaya's face. He completely ignored the glare and comment he received and instead motioned to the blankets scattered on the floor from when he fell.

"Are you going to clean those up any time soon? My house is already a mess as it is."

* * *

><p>Izaya stared up at Shizuo with complete distaste for a moment, still not accustomed to his usual annoying and rather sly behavior, as it was morning and he still craved perhaps another hour of sleep.<p>

On top of that, what good did Shizuo have in waking him up? From what he'd experienced personally, and through what everybody in Ikebukuro knew, Shizuo found Izaya to be the lowest of the low, as in, why would he wake him up for fun, knowing that it meant that Izaya would probably begin his daily 'let's piss Shizuo off so much he throws something large with inhumane strength' scheme.

Deciding that perhaps it was best to abide by that, Izaya heaved a sigh, glanced back down at his lap, and then allowed Shizuo to steal his attention yet again, this time Izaya had a - hopefully - empowering smirk over his placid features, and he shook his head. "Nope, I don't feel like cleaning. You clean, or you don't get to kill me."

Izaya was inwardly extremely giddy, it seemed that he could really take advantage of Shizuo during this time; it wasn't the other way around like he'd thought at all. What wild things could he do to twist the poor man? Well, first he'd have to set down a base rule, just in case Shizuo did end up snapping to Izaya's general antics.

"Shizuo, just to be sure, if you attack me before the time comes at the end of the week, I am let off free. Got that?"

Izaya stood up slowly and kicked at the blankets on the ground as he did. He hadn't realized that he was wearing Shizuo's shirt - which just exposed how small he was compared to the taller (much taller) male, until he stretched, and then lowered his arms to his side, gazing at Shizuo for a moment, before setting his eyes back down to the floor.

* * *

><p>Shizuo scowled at Izaya, letting out an irritated grunt. Well, that somewhat killed his mischievous mood. Knowing how the flea was, if he knew that Shizuo might be willing to do some of the things that he either requested or demanded just so that he would be able to kill him later on in the week, then, there would be no end to them until Izaya was completely satisfied.<p>

"Wait, when did you make that rule?"

He questioned as he pocketed away his cell phone after texting Tom about the 'run away' client. It wasn't that obvious, but Shizuo was sure that a bit of disappointment had flashed through his eyes at that moment.

Would he be able to resist the urge to kill Izaya if he somehow became extremely annoying?

Knowing how Shizuo's patience always wore thin when it came to anything that bother him, even a little, then he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to kill Izaya.

It was all just a waste of time for him if they didn't stick to the deal that they made.

Trying to not look swayed by the new rule that was just added on to their deal, Shizuo shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and yawned lowly.

"Well, whatever. I don't care."

He then proceeded to turn around and walk back to the kitchen to find something to eat. As for the blankets and stuff scattered around on the floor, he would just clean that up later, when he was actually willing too. Otherwise, it would probably, well most likely stay on the floor until further notice.

"What are you planning to do today anyways?" He asked before a look of disdain pasted Shizuo's face when he noticed that there was nothing in the fridge that they could considered breakfast. That meant that they would have to go to the store to buy food.

* * *

><p>Izaya glanced up at Shizuo again, staring at him with complete disdain. Yes, he'd failed to mention that little rule, but he thought that it was pretty obvious, he'd stated Shizuo could kill him only at the end of the week, if he was attacked beforehand that'd blow the whole things out of proportion.<p>

Shizuo really was an idiot, and Izaya was so desperate to teasingly tell the blonde so, instead he just raised his eyebrows, but otherwise spoke seriously. "I made that rule when I realized that you hate me enough to break our deal."

He put it so simply that Izaya had to turn around, to continue to act slightly casual as he hooked his foot underneath one of the blankets on the ground and lifted his leg, in an effort not to have to bend down to pick it up. Izaya took the blanket off of his foot and chucked it onto the couch, repeating the same for the next two. He'd been pretty cold, obvious during the night. Apart from that, Izaya had slept peacefully… which was weird since he never thought he'd lower himself to sleeping on someone else's couch. He didn't really have dignity left, it seemed. But he'd let that be something in-between only himself and Shizuo.

He turned back around yet again to face the blonde, taking a step forward he shook his head and let out another sigh. "I don't know. I'm supposed to be your friend, aren't I? So just… take me where you take other friends, I guess," Izaya paused momentarily to snicker as he tilted his head; "Or does Shizu-chan not have friends?"

Izaya had only really ever seen him with Tom, though he knew Shizuo was popular with ladies, they never really got close enough… he had no idea how Shizuo would act towards a lover. He let his smile fade as he studied the man, just thinking about it. Would he be nice towards a person he loved? Would he actually show that he cared? It didn't seem possible for Shizuo. Still, Izaya found himself averting his gaze and pushing past the male, walking towards the hall. "What did you do with my clothes?"

* * *

><p>Shizuo closed the refrigerator with a sigh. He didn't want to leave his domain today. If anything, he just wanted to stay inside and soak the day up by being completely lazy. He didn't have a good night and with Izaya here, he doubted that he would even have a good morning today.<p>

There was no way that he was willing to go to a store just to have people stare in confusion and judge him quietly, sometimes even loudly just so that they could be heard by others, about him buying food. Was he really considered that much of a beast that people thought that he didn't eat? The though cause him to twitch, trying to keep calm not lose his temper today.

Especially since he wasn't in the mood to throw any vending machines or signs at any ignorant people. But then again, he doubted that he would be able to think straight once he has entered rage mood. That was how it always was for him, that is, until something snaps him out of it long enough for him to get back in control of his body.

Shizuo sent Izaya glare from his peripheral vision, too lazy to turn his body towards him.

"Shut up."

He replied lowly. He had to keep reminding himself about the rule that he was just informed about. Izaya should be glad he stated it before Shizuo found the urge to crush him under his couch. He continued to glare even after Izaya pushed past him before shrugging nonchalantly.

"I don't know. I kicked it somewhere when I almost tripped on it."

He grumbled, watching as the informant broker walked toward the hall way. It just now dawned on Shizuo just how small Izaya was compared to him. It made him grunt and his eyebrows furrow at the thought.

Was he a monster, even in size? It was irritating to think about it, but not many people where his size and he could be easily spotted in a crowd.

"Hurry up and find your cloth. We're going out to eat."

He instructed trying to erase the thought as he pointing a thumb towards the door to emphasize his command. He didn't want to go to the store. That could wait until later, he was hungry now.

* * *

><p>Izaya sighed, "Well, Shizu-chan, I've got to say you were not the best sleepover I've ever had."<p>

He began to make his way through the hall, checking every indent of a door to the wall and the cupboard, just to find his clothes. What the hell could Shizuo have done to them? He was half asleep… maybe he inattentively put them through the wash? Then again, Shizuo didn't seem capable of being nice to Izaya even during his wake. So, then… had he done one of his monster kicks and made his clothes disappear to some other country on the other side of the world?

Izaya scoffed at the thought and turned around, Shizuo was still in view, and he had to say… eating out did sound favorable… however he did not want to be seen with Shizuo. How embarrassing for him, the previous day it had been bad enough, he didn't want it to simply become worse!

"U-Uh okay…" Izaya raised his eyebrows as he turned back around, completely forgetting the snarky comment he was going to send Shizuo's way he regarded a bundle of dark clothes at the very end of the hall.

As Izaya was advancing towards them, he seemed to forget that he was awake, out of drowsiness of the morning, not only that but his footing became shot as he sent himself sprawling forwards, flat onto his stomach and arms, luckily his face didn't hit the floor. He needed to protect that.

For a moment, he blinked, utterly shocked with himself… until ever so slowly it sunk in that he'd just tripped over, in front of Shizuo. In front of… how embarrassing!

Izaya's face turned all shades of red as he pushed himself back up, glad that his back was turned from the giant as he scooped up his clothes and headed straight for the bathroom without another word. That was the first time he'd fallen over in a while… by accident anyway.

* * *

><p>Shizuo shrugged nonchalantly at Izaya. He never wanted to have this little 'sleep over' in the first place. But he was too tired last night to kick Izaya out, and at that time he really couldn't care less if the informant broker stayed or not, as long as he was able to get some shut eye.<p>

Though he kind of regretted it now because he had most likely lost the possibly best sleep of his entire life to just some probes and pokes, and one very annoying voice of a certain very annoying person who took pleasure out of other peoples struggling and problems.

An impatient look crossed Shizuo's expression when he noticed that Izaya had yet to find his bundle of cloth. He didn't think that he had kicked it that far away from the original spot that it was thrown. He looked at him before glancing at the clock to see what time it was. He wanted to get out before the town began to get lively, which was usually around 12:00.

"Will you h-..."

Blinking, a small smirk of amusement crawled onto Shizuo's face when he noticed that Izaya was on the ground. He had only looked away for a second, and when he turned back there he was, falling in what seemed like slow motion until he hit the ground with a small 'thump'.

Now usually, Shizuo wasn't one to laugh at somebody Else's pain or problems, especially if it involved them hurting themselves. He would sneer at them and turn away with a look of disdain.

But with Izaya, it was a whole different story.

The smirk that he wore quickly broke into a grin as he snickered quietly. Hey, at least he was trying to act like a friend and not laugh in front of his face. Then again, he had seen a couple of friends that laughed at the other ones misfortune when he did his daily walk around Ikebukuro.

He watched the very embarrassed raven haired guy rush to the bathroom before he let out a booming laugh.

It may have seen like a mistake because of a bad footing, but Shizuo considered it Karma for ruining a very good sleep for a very tired person.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Merry Christmas all! Here is an extra long chapter with a moemoe Iza-chan~! <em>**


	22. Chapter 22

Izaya had no idea why Shizuo had waited until he'd actually shut the bathroom door to laugh, he could still hear it, it's not like the blonde was making an effort to be quiet. He sunk backwards against the door, and despite his face still being a very embarrassed and deep red, Izaya found himself smiling at something so stupid and annoying as Shizuo's laughter. He knew it wasn't half as annoying as that sarcastic laugh he gave whenever Shizuo did something amusing, however he'd actually… never heard it before. And yet… it was making him smile?

'Just because I'm trying to be positive about what I did,' he told himself. Of course, laughing was the way to rid yourself of embarrassment, right? Well, that's the excuse he'd go with, Izaya would stand firm and completely ignore the warm feeling in his chest. It was because he made someone laugh for real. Not because he was Shizuo in general. That, he told himself for a fact, even if it was because Izaya hurt himself.

He quickly changed back into his own clothes, though if he was to stay at Shizuo's apartment again he'd need to go and get spares. Izaya relaxed himself, making his way to the sink he cringed. He had nothing, literally nothing. Oh well, he might as well wash his mouth out with toothpaste, even if it wasn't the same as brushing his teeth. Izaya did just that, before venturing out of the bathroom and standing in the hallway, regarding Shizuo with smile of his own. Oh, shit.

Izaya quickly turned that smile into a smirk as he heaved a sigh. "That's your entertainment, think of it as a thank-you for letting me stay. You didn't have to, you know."

* * *

><p>Shizuo allowed himself to calm down from his hysterical laughing to take a good breather. Letting out a silent sigh to help regain his breath slow do the pattern until it was it's original 'breath in..breath out' deal.<p>

It was weird when he noticed something about his nerves. After laughing for a minute or two, Shizuo felt pretty much easy going for the moment. He didn't feel annoyed by anything, or anyone. And he felt more awake then he was before. Who knew that laughing would help his nerves that much.

"Heh, yeah yeah. Whatever."

Shizuo could have been hallucinating for a second, but he could have sworn that he saw a smile on Izaya's face when he walked out, but when he blinked he clearly saw that it was actually a smirk. He waved a hand at him in a dismissive manner and motioned towards the door.

"You wanna chose where, or should I?...Then again, it doesn't really matter..."

He truly didn't care where they were as long as he was able to eat something. Not having anything in his system for a while was starting to make him a bit impatient.

It took a couple of seconds before Shizuo realized that he had never changed out of his sleeping wear. He let out a small sigh and headed towards his room to quickly changed, kind of glad that he remembered before he actually left out the door.

That would just be something that Izaya could laugh at him for, especially since Shizuo had already gotten a good laugh out of his earlier mistake involving clothes and a floor.

When Shizuo finally came out of his room he stretched and jabbed his thumb towards the door.

"Come on, let's go already."

The longer he waited, the more he felt the need to want to throw something across the room.

* * *

><p>"Yeah, I know a place," Izaya spoke quickly when he was asked, he really didn't want Shizuo choosing where they'd dine for food, the male wasn't even capable of clearly getting dressed in the morning, and the brunette offered a small scoff when Shizuo did realise that he still needed to get changed before they went out of his apartment.<p>

Izaya was generally curious, how often did Shizuo get out? He didn't look like he did, although that was a very bias opinion, Shizuo did appear as the type of guy who got out a lot with woman, however he didn't act like it.

Shizuo acted like a total virgin, oh it was just that adorable.

In a sickening; 'I gag on your stupidity' kind of way, at least, Izaya confirmed.

He could tell the blonde was getting slowly increasingly irritated as he motioned towards the door, and as Izaya followed him out and slowly towards the lifts of the apartment building, he couldn't help feel out of place.

He still wanted to lead Shizuo, he still wanted some upper-hand.

Using that thought to drice him, absently Izaya grabbed onto the blonde's hand, in a moment of haste he intertwined their fingers awkwardly as he tugged them towards the lifts, only letting go of such a… hesitant… hold when they were safely inside one.

Izaya immediately realised what he'd done and let go of Shizuo's hand, as if he were a girl in year 3 and Shizuo had cooties, he yanked his hand back to his side and averted his gaze.

Blushing?

"I-It's… hot…" he mumbled, wanting to slap himself.

* * *

><p>Shizuo sighed when they finally showed some progress of going somewhere. He was really starting to get small stomach pains from not eating, since mostly every morning he had something that would hold him to the end of the day, and then have something small to snack on before he went to bed at night.<p>

It was kind of a way to keep him energized but at the same time not make him as hungry as most people are during the day. In a way, he had trained himself to fight hungry for hours, but when it came to morning, he had to get something in his stomach.

"Hopefully it's not some stupid place..."

He mumbled under his breath as he thought of all the possible places that Izaya might know of and lead him too. He wasn't one fond of fancy, snobby, or uptight places that had annoying waiters and hoped that he didn't have to 'act proper' or whatever the hell those type of people do.

He knew that he would defiantly lose his temper if he ever had to go to one of those places.

His thoughts were cut off short and he unintentionally sucked in a breath when he felt something warm and small being placed in his hand. An awkward, almost uncomfortable feeling bubbled in the pit of his stomach as he tried to grasp the situation at hand.

Izaya, he had just held his hand. Sure it seemed like it was just a spur of the moment thing, but it still caused him to tense slightly and feel fidgety.

"W-what are you..."

True fully and honestly, Shizuo Heiwajima had never held anyone's hands before. Not even his siblings' when they were younger. Part of it being that he always broke his arm during his childhood and didn't feel comfortable having his one good hand restricted by an others'.

But now actually holding someone hands, he felt a certain comfort that warmed him up in no time and made him forget about any worries that he might have held at that moment. It was..nice. He had noted mentally, though he did it subconsciously.

After feeling Izaya's hand grasp his own and then quickly leave within a couple of seconds he felt, dare he say it, a bit disappointed that his hand was no longer being held and unconsciously flexed it as he looked away from Izaya and trying his hardest to suppress the blush on his face, now noticing Izaya's own face was painted a light shade of pink.

The ride down was seriously an awkward one for them now.

* * *

><p>Izaya could sense the tension between the two as the lift sunk down, he kept his eyes averted to the sides, trying so hard not to speak just in case he said something that made things worse... though on that note, Izaya wanted to slap himself in the forehead. What else was he good for? Making things worse! He shook his head to rid himself of the blush, before he tried to plaster an expression of innocence on his face... it really wasn't something he wore often. At all.<p>

He glanced towards Shizuo, solely taking note of the red that adorned his cheeks as Izaya grinned in almost triumph and shuffled to the side until his shoulder and arm was pressed against Shizuo's. "Shizu-chan, you know your face is red?"

He inwardly smirked as he glanced up at the blonde male innocently, before he realised how stupid it was what he was doing. He didn't want to know Shizuo's feelings towards him, for some reason Izaya felt it'd make his mood only worse... to hear another person announce 'I hate you'. Even if this one was more direct than others. For some reason, coming from someone like Shizuo it pained the brunette more. Or perhaps it was because they were meant to be so-called 'friends' now.

"Don't worry," he muttered, stepping to the side again as the lift opened. He averted his eyes all over again as he stepped out, keeping his head down as he walked out of the building altogether, graced by the streets of Ikebukuro, the town of his childhood. "I'm embarrassed to be seen with you as well."


	23. Chapter 23

Shizuo was at a lost for words when he felt Izaya press up against his arm. Unconsciously, he stiffen his body to keep himself from looking nervous, it was the only thing that he could think of to do at the moment, especially since his mind was still very much in the past of what had happen not too long ago.

Being nervous in the first place was shocking to the blonde, he had never felt so clammy and stiff in his life, it made him frown, what was happening to him?

He didn't like it; he didn't like how these foreign feelings kept invading his inner thoughts or his usual reactions. It made him feel unprepared and defenseless in its own way.

No thoughts could run through his mind besides the fact that they had held hands for a brief second. That his arch nemesis had grabbed his hand and intertwined fingers with him, leaving Shizuo in a shocked and embarrassed state.

He tried his best to keep his eyes from traveling anywhere near Izaya and instead kept them focused on the very random things that could be found on the floor. It made Shizuo feel like a little school girl sitting together with her long term crush, sadly. This irritated him slightly. He had never acted that way before; even in high school he didn't become embarrassed about stupid things like this.

Then again, it could always be directed back to the fact that he had never held someone's hand before.

His attention quickly switched to Izaya when he realized what the informant said about being seen together, and he allowed his frown to deepen more and his eyebrows to furrow as he followed behind his steps slowly.

"Tch..."

It made Shizuo feel somewhat upset to hear Izaya say that. Why would he feel embarrassed to be seen with him when they basically were seen together all the time? Then again, they were always fighting when together, so actually seeing them walk down the street causally would be shocking.

But the fact that it would be because of who Shizuo was to every one else, that was what made him upset. Izaya did think of him as a monster, the 'beast of bukuro.' And knowing the flea, he most likely still thought of him as that even though they were supposed to be treating each other like 'friends'.

He wouldn't voice his thoughts, though. He just kept them to himself and silently let Izaya lead the way to where ever they were going.

* * *

><p>Izaya could take comfort in the fact that he knew Shizuo was following him in close pursuit, he didn't want to disrupt the blonde as to make him angry, not now, he didn't care for fighting with him anymore. Though it almost felt that as soon as they stepped out onto the streets, his insecurities arose once again, the people around him were making him feel sick. They weren't looking... not yet, after all Izaya could probably blend into the background, his hair was black, a very popular color for those around him, though Shizuo's hair was blonde. He was a giant. And he was just plain well-known around these parts. That made him easy to spot. And when someone spotted Shizuo, they'd see Izaya.<p>

The raven haired male almost wondered whether he should actually go so far as to pretend he was fighting with Shizuo, at least that way he'd look semi-decent to the people's expectations. But he had never tried to play along with the rules, he liked to think of himself as spontaneous and unpredictable, no matter what choices he made. He took pride on not being ... well, on not being anything like Shizuo.

"We're almost there," he mumbled as he continued to make his way down from the hotel. In truth, they weren't almost there, it was around the corner and then a fair way upwards from there, however there was no conversation... and conversation was better than the eerie silence that enveloped them.

Izaya decided finally that, despite whatever his thoughts may be telling him to do, he shouldn't care. He didn't care. Shizuo and he were... friends.

Inward gag.

Yes, friends.

"Shizu-chan, so... have you had sex before?" What the hell, it was a conversation starter, and just the humiliating thoughts for the blonde's response was already putting a grin on Izaya's face.

* * *

><p>Shizuo could care less if people saw him walking with Izaya or not, which was different then how he thought of it yesterday. Living as long as he has in Ikebukuro, he knew that no matter what the situation was, people were going to open their big mouth and gossip over something. They even watched as he and Izaya fought, even though they were scared out of their mind about what would happen to them.<p>

People were just nosy.

He continued to follow after Izaya quietly, and couldn't help but feel like just because he was walking behind the damn louse, that he was probably being looked down upon mentally. Perhaps people were thinking of him as a lost dog just following behind his master and listening to any order he was given.

Which obviously was not the case, but people liked to spread rumors to start things.

This came to no surprise when he thought clearly about it a couple of times. And even though Shizuo didn't care about what others had been thinking about him, or even what Izaya thought about him. He still quickened his pace just a bit so that he was now walking a good distance beside the louse by the time he heard him mumble.

He nodded his head slightly and readjusted his sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose and let out an inaudible sigh of irritation when he realized that he actually was being affected by people's thoughts on him.

Shizuo sputtered in shock and embarrassment at Izaya's question before glaring daggers at him.

"What the hell! Is that seriously a question that you would casually ask someone while walking!"

He could feel the embarrassing blush make its way onto his cheeks and he coughed slightly to try and bring it back down. Damn that flea. He knew just what to say to make Shizuo either embarrassed, annoying, or just plain angry.

* * *

><p>Izaya stopped walking for a moment to manage a backwards-skip and step in line with Shizuo again, trying to put an innocent grin on his face when he noted the blush on the blonde's. For some reason, just teasing Shizuo like this was almost as fun as trying to kill him. Izaya would make it fair, Shizuo was allowed to tease him in return, but he didn't. A few times he had, but it was more playful... it was as if Shizuo was too naive to come up with anything that could ever evoke such a response from Izaya himself.<p>

"Whoa, Shizu-chan, it's just a question. In high school you were actually really popular with girls." Izaya paused for a moment, tilting his head to the side at his own thoughts as they reached the corner and he abruptly turned it, bouncing out in front of the blonde so he could turn around and walk backwards, his eyes connected to Shizuo's amber orbs and he let that grin continue to play at his lips, expertly dodging passers-by as he emitted a small chuckle. "I sure drove them away."

Izaya wasn't exactly sure why he'd done so, Shinra had told him many times 'it's because you're jealous!' and every single time Izaya had brushed the comment away with something snarky but dead-honest. He was definitely not attracted to Shizuo in any way during high-school, he wanted to see the girls' reactions, how deep they could be in love, how fast they'd give up... and if Shizuo was with a girl all the time... he'd have no room for Izaya whatsoever.

The raven-haired male turned back around as he finally reached the restaurant, well, not so much as a diner for breakfast, lunch, dinner... he didn't know why he was taking Shizuo there. Oh, wait, yes he did.

Every part of the inside of the diner looked expensive, it wasn't a simple off-the-road diner, the seats were unmarked, the walls tainted only by framed works and such of the latter, many more objects adorned the outskirts of a tiled floor as the tables curled around one another separate, private.

"You're paying." Izaya smirked as he walked straight inside.

* * *

><p>Shizuo actually paused slightly from walking with Izaya to, for once since he has been in contact with the object where most of his hatred lied; think about what he had had pointed out to him. Now that he actually took the time to look back on how his high school years were like, he wasn't really concerned about finding a girl to hopefully settle down with later on in his years, or going on dates like most boys were.<p>

"What…?"

Then again, he was always so focused on looking for Izaya; the only thing ever on his mind back then was making sure that Kasuka was safe and also finding a way to end the fleas' life as painfully as possible.

"I've never really noticed."

He muttered under his breath before turning his gaze up away from the sidewalks of Ikebukuro to the informant broker. A look between shock and angry passing his face as he took in the small information that he was just given to him, though he tried to suppress it down as much as he could.

"So you're saying, that all this time…."

His fist clenched and unclenched and his jaws tightened slightly. For as long as Shizuo could remember, he hated the massive strength that he had received as a child, and during high school when he actually started to appreciate his weird strength, while not really, but he was glad that he was able to fend off the gang members and thugs that Izaya had tried to send after him, he thought that he could try to turn over a new leaf.

But nobody had ever talked to him but Shinra, so he started to think that everybody hated him for his brute strength. But now Izaya was telling him that he had scared away any possibility of Shizuo making at least a friend and any chances of getting a girlfriend! The urge to crush Izaya with something was back again, and Shizuo had to slam the palm of his hand against his forehead a couple of times to try and get the thought away.

A week, that's all.

Just a week and then he would never have to see the flea again. He would get to watch the flea's blood spread across the floor, his eyes close slowly close and him taking his last breath.

Shizuo shook that thought out of his head as well, feeling a bit dark about thinking about it in the first place.

When he snapped out of his thoughts finally, he looked over at the restaurant that he was lead to and his mouth practically dropped to the ground. The one place that he absolutely hated to go to was fancy looking places. Subconsciously, he reached forward and grabbed the hood of Izaya's jacket, pulling him back outside.

"What the hell, I don't want to go in there!"

* * *

><p>Izaya could really tell that gradually, Shizuo was getting mad with him. Of course, the blonde would most likely be eternally mad, but this time it seemed as if he'd opened his mouth. He didn't want to linger on the subject of why he'd actually driven the girls away from Shizuo in the first place, because on the odd occasion in which it did cross his mind and momentarily linger, a suitable explanation was always 'jealousy'. But seriously, what did Izaya have to be jealous of?<p>

Shizuo had no one, and he practically had anyone he wanted.

Shizuo was a monster, and he was just an annoying idiot who tended to act different around a certain audience.

Sure, Izaya had also had his fair share of girls as well. After all, he wasn't exactly ugly, at all, for that matter. Izaya simply enjoyed seeing what the girls would do for him as well, what emotional extent they'd go to. If he ever did agree to date one, it was purely for research. It wasn't as though he was bent on looking for a girlfriend 24/7 like a lot of the guys around him were. But on the chance that a girl did realize his twisted game, no one would believe her. Because Izaya had a secret. He knew how to determine the right place, and the right time. Sometimes, he was just as annoying as ever. But he'd never under estimate a situation.

That was what Shizuo was good for, after all. Not what he was good for.

He raised both eyebrows when he felt himself being yanked back; he almost had to hold back a choke. Shizuo could really do damage... by accident too. On impulse, Izaya reached out behind him and gripped onto both the taller male's wrists, keeping a hold on them as he twisted himself easily so he was facing Shizuo, his whole still as strong as he shrugged. "Then you take us somewhere. But if I can't eat the food then what's the point? Also, take-out isn't a breakfast, Shizu-chan."

Izaya continued to look up at him. Shizuo was... oddly... alluring when he didn't realize it. He held his gaze, just for the sake of being the stronger person, though he didn't know what kind of stare he was regarding Shizuo with.

Izaya would admire the blonde in one way in particular. He just didn't give up.

* * *

><p>Shizuo held Izaya's stare silently, a glare still pretty much on the blondes face. It was sort of like a silent battle between the two. The first to back off would be the one to lose and then the loser would have to agree with the winner. Well, that was how Shizuo saw it in his mind, and why he continued to stare the infamous male down, not breaking eye contact at all. Even if people were watching from a good distance.<p>

Though, as he stared at the male in front of him who still had a pretty good grip on his wrist, he couldn't help but noticed that Izaya's eyes were browner then he had remembered them, along with little tints of red in there to make them look just a bit of an auburn color, but he guessed that it was because of the sun's light.

Shizuo didn't realize it but while he was in his thoughts, starring Izaya down to try and make him back down from the non verbal duel against one another, he had started to slowly lean closer to the broker. He was, as weird as it sounded, feeling drawn in by him. Those eyes filled with mischief wrapped around his common sense, pushing him into doing something without thinking it over properly.

The only reason why Shizuo was able to snap out of his trance like state was when he heard quiet squeals from two school girls. He quickly pulled his wrist from Izaya's grip and stepped back. He narrowed his eyes slightly and let out an irritated sigh.

"You're just too damn picky."

He muttered under his breath as he walked into the restaurant reluctantly. Most of the time he wasn't one to submit to someone else's command, especially to someone like Izaya Orihara, but he was really just too hungry to argue over it, and knowing how Izaya is, they would be arguing He would let Izaya have this one, he reasoned with himself, since he didn't really know a good place to go to eat out anyway.

Most of the time him and tom went to some cheap fast food restaurant because they both weren't into the whole fancy stuff at normal restaurants and it was a quick and easy way to get something to eat without waiting for the long hassle of making something at home.

* * *

><p><em><strong>HiHi! It's been a while everyone, I'm sorry it's taken so long! I've decided I'm going to try and cram more into these chapters; I don't want there being 8567362 chapters, especially when this build up is getting tedious. Never you mind, we did agree to begin a time skip theme very soon C:<strong>_


	24. Chapter 24

Izaya couldn't help but chuckle at those schoolgirls; he was refreshed somewhat by Shizuo's attitude towards them, well, not so much towards them, towards Izaya. However, it really showed that he was trying hard not to get into this deal outdoors, but Shizuo really was, somewhere underneath that shell of outward hatred, a kind soul. He kept staring at Shizuo though the blonde seemed to be a little out of it; however, Izaya himself had noticed that Shizuo had been leaning in. Most likely because of impulse. Izaya scoffed to himself. His ego could blow up a building.

He continued to hold his gaze on Shizuo even once the blonde seemed to have decided against his previous little grudge. Well, not really, he was still half in it as it seemed when he walked through the doors. Izaya happily joined him, walking right behind him and into the restaurant to take his seat happily in a booth, waiting for Shizuo to join him.

He didn't find that these moments with Shizuo were to be taken for granted; surprisingly he of course wanted to stay away from ever putting Shizuo on a pedestal like that.

"Oh, another thing, when the waiter comes, you're ordering. For me, too. So don't get something wrong."

Without realizing it himself, Izaya had turned this somehow into rules for a date.

* * *

><p>Shizuo didn't really know how to act as he watched Izaya with a twitching eye as he sat across from the informant and casted a glance at the people who were brave enough to stay, though some looked scared and wary about the duo. Shizuo really wanted a smoke to calm his nerves, but the damned place wouldn't allow it. So he instead rolled his eyes.<p>

"Wait! Why the hell should I-"

He was cut off by a waitress who walked up to the two with a smile.

"Can I take your order, sirs?"

Even Shizuo could guess that she was not from Ikebukuro; otherwise she would be shaking by now. He changed his scowling expression and nodded begrudily as he picked up the menu and skimmed through it. He ordering two reasonable priced meals, then he handed her his menu after she jotted it down with a stroke of her pen on the pad that she carried with her.

"Is that all?"

"Yeah."

Shizuo didn't notice how the girl sent him a flirtatious smile, since he was too busy quietly fuming about how empty his wallet will feel afterwards. "Damn you flea..."

It was bad enough that Shizuo had to sit there in that expensive place where it seemed like even breathing cost, but he had to pay for the meal too?

Fuccckkk.

The toilet paper was probably made out of dollars or some shit like that as well!

"Next time I'm picking the place!"

He growled under his breath.

* * *

><p>Izaya watched the waiter carefully, analyzing her every move for reasons that he was sure should come apparent. The main fact being, she was staring right at Shizuo when she asked them for their orders, and when she walked away... that smile of hers directed right towards an oblivious target made Izaya scowl slightly. Shizuo being fancied now was a hindrance, especially since for the rest of the week the brute should be paying attention to no one else.<p>

Luckily, Shizuo really was oblivious, and Izaya was bossy. Childish, yes, but hell, that was basically the foundation for a perfect marriage. Still, Shizuo didn't take shit, which was something that Izaya would need to fix... finding himself actually thinking of the latter, 'marriage', Izaya stifled a chuckle before he looked up at Shizuo with a small smirk. "Sure you can, Shizu-chan. In fact, you can make me lunch and dinner, sound good?" For a moment, Izaya paused, thinking of all of the heinous things he could force the blonde to cook him...

"Don't you have to work?" Izaya tilted his head slightly.

Soon enough, however, their meals were right in front of them... and that waiter stood there, as if she was expecting something... she seemed to be fidgeting as she stared straight at Shizuo. Izaya couldn't help but feel betrayed; as he told himself for the reason of human nature... he narrowed his eyes at her.

* * *

><p>Shizuo eyed Izaya with a small scowled on his face. Sure he was suppose to be nice and treat the informant broker like a friend, but to go as far as making him lunch and dinner and such like that?<p>

Ohhh no.

"Like hell I'm doing all that."

He crossed his arms stubbornly and rolled his eyes, wondering why Izaya would even think of something like that. Did he completely forget that they were enemies with a deal over their head? How could he even think about stuff like that? Did he no notice that Shizuo, if he was completely determined to, could drop poison into the food and have him eat it?

No, he didn't think that Izaya was that dumb.

He checked his watch when the flea mentioned his work, something that he had completely forgotten about.

"Tch. I have 10 minutes to spare."

He mumbled under his breath, and then his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Why do you want to know?"

Thinking about it now, he had to text Tom and see where they would meet. Without much thought to it, Shizuo took out his phone, barely noticing when they food was placed down, and started texting.

He finally looked up when he felt like someone was watching him, and he grunted when he noticed that the waitress watching him, rather closely he noticed. It was actually a bit disturbing having someone starring at him for so long.

"..What?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it back with a blush on her cheeks that Shizuo had surprisingly caught without difficulty.

"N-nothing! Please enjoy your food."

She quickly left the table and Shizuo shrugged before he proceeded to stuff his mouth with food.

"Weird girl..."

* * *

><p>Izaya had spent the past three minutes resting his cheek in his palm, staring around like the place was trash to him. Really, he was just bored. Shizuo obvious sucked at conversation, they shared no conversational topics of which were the same, and to put it in an even more simple way, the blonde obviously had never shared casual conversation before in the first place. He watched Shizuo curiously for a moment, and regarding the way he treated the waitress, Izaya didn't know whether to laugh or stare at him in disdain. Did Shizuo really fail to understand a woman's motives? Izaya could talk to him about it... but, if Shizuo realized, then would he be interested in her in return?<p>

He picked up a fork, poking at his food softly when he realized, he really wasn't hungry. It was that time of the day where his high had halted, and now, he felt plain depressed again. Nothing to go back to, relying on his enemy, he was filth. And Shizuo was filth too, for accepting him.

Izaya managed to eat absently, refusing to speak for a while, trying not to display a farce of annoyance or sadness over his features. Before he really knew it, he'd eaten his food, for a still moment he wondered where it'd gone. Glancing up at Shizuo, Izaya slowly stood up. Should he say anything?

"Anyway... you've got work, and... I guess... I'll just go somewhere. Thank - " Izaya stopped himself when he realized he was about to say thank you a second time."Yeah. So, go to work." He mumbled, turning around to make his way out of the restaurant.

* * *

><p>Shizuo quickly finished his food when he noticed that it was almost time for him to go to work. He had to make sure that he wasn't late today since he had to go on a wild goose chase to find some guy that hadn't paid yet. And besides that he didn't want to go wasting expensive food.<p>

He would make sure that Izaya never dragged him to a place like this again, that was for sure. He didn't like the creepy waitress who kept starring at him, or the fact that half the people in the place looked extremely nervous around him.

When Izaya got up to leave Shizuo's' eyebrows furrowed. He didn't know what was wrong with the flea, and he definitely didn't know why he felt like he should catch up to him and ask if he anything was wrong. Shizuo may be oblivious, but he can sense when somebody is not feeling like themselves.

Especially Izaya Orihara.

Shaking his head, Shizuo got up, placed the money for the food on the table, and quickly walked out. He did not wanting to be in there anymore. When he got outside he looked at Izaya's retreating form, not sure if he should say something or not. But the beeping of his phone answered his mental question and he quickly picked it up and walked the opposite way while talking to Tom.

"This is going to be a slow day..."

He sighed after finishing his conversation with his senpai. Then he proceeded to meet up with him so that they could start, who gave him a smile when he finally reached his destination.

"Alright Shizuo, let's get going."

He gave a nod to Tom and they began their hours of work, though the whole time he couldn't help but wonder what Izaya was doing.

* * *

><p><strong>I know I know this is so over due, but it's gonna get interesting now : ) Thank you for all the kind words :) School gets in the way :( <strong>


	25. Chapter 25

What had he said? He'd told him to go to work. And now, what was Izaya to do? He didn't own a key to Shizuo's apartment, but who was to say that he was actually living there? Couldn't he have chosen someone else to do these things for him?

So many questions were buzzing through Izaya's mind, his usual habit would be to shove them away after giving a smart-ass answer for his own self-satisfaction, and this time he didn't know how to answer any of them. He was at least in possession of his actual house key, he didn't know whether Naomi was there or not, he hadn't slept there the previous night and had not told her anything about that, it wasn't unusual though he'd just have to find out.

As he made his way out of Ikebukuro, he had no idea when he'd actually see Shizuo again, what would happen from now… until the end of the week. Shizuo was not going to tell anyone, Izaya knew that, right? He was modest enough for those silly little things.

Once home, and inside his empty apartment, Izaya practically collapsed onto the lounge, laying on his back as he stared aimlessly up at the ceiling. He shouldn't have been tired, but he was. Sleep was an escape from the pain. Shizuo would soon put him to sleep for a long time. He could hold that in mind. It didn't take long before he succumbed to his sleepy state, and Izaya fell into an uncomfortable slumber.

* * *

><p>"Hey Shizuo, you okay?"<p>

Shizuo quickly jolted out of his thoughts when he felt a hand place itself onto his shoulder, though he relaxed a bit when he noticed that it was just Tom tapping him. He would have been more prepared for the hand if his mind wasn't so far deep in trying to figure out what Izaya was doing at the moment.

His nose scrunched up in dismay when he noticed that he had been thinking about the flea ever since they left the restaurant and went their separate ways so that he could go to work before he was late. And ever since he met up with Tom his mind kept wandering over to the flea and his daily activities for the day.

"Shizuo?"

"Huh? Oh, uh yeah. I'm fine."

He took a moment to reposition his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and turned to Tom as he counted up the depts that they were able to collect for the day. It wasn't as much as they were usually able to earn because of Shizuo's constant zoning out, but he figured that it was better than nothing at all. With a shrug of his shoulders, Tom patted Shizuo on the back.

"Alright, we're good for today. Get some rest, you seem out of it."

Shizuo didn't need to be told twice; he just nodded, sent a wave to his ''senpai'', and made his way back home wonder if Izaya was there or not. Was the informant Broker even going to stay at Shizuo's place until the deal was up? Or was he just going to go somewhere else. Shizuo didn't know, but truthfully he liked the idea of Izaya staying with him. Because he liked the idea of being able to wake up and see someone in the house with him, unlike how it usually is. The thought made his steps home quicken until he was finally at his door. And with a small, slightly eager push, he opened his door and expected to see Izaya, but was disappointed when the house was left just as it was before they left to eat.

"Where is that damn flea?"

He questioned quietly to himself before dialling Izaya's number, wondering if he would pick up or not.

* * *

><p>Izaya had indeed; regretfully fallen asleep, he hadn't known himself to be this tired, but his constant low emotions and these down feelings he was putting himself through were taking a lot out of him. He hadn't even realised he was asleep, let alone how long for, before he heard his phone ringing. All he knew was that his dream was odd, very odd. Inside his mind, Izaya had never seen Shizuo in a positive light. He wasn't the annoying one of the duo, obviously, however he was the monster. He always would be. So why was it that, inside Izaya's dream... he was <em>attracted<em> to him? Izaya and Shizuo weren't even close, in fact, as Izaya sat up to pull his phone from his pocket, he even questioned whether he himself was actually in said dream, or if it was just Shizuo... just Shizuo. Oh, God his mind was being a bitch to him lately.

"Wh... wha?" He spoke absently as he finally answered, not having even checked the caller ID as he finally snapped out of his state. Izaya took the phone away from his ear, noting Shizuo's name... Shizuo... he was calling him?

Izaya managed a weak smirk. "You're really taking this seriously, aren't you?"

He hadn't expected this at all, though he did admire such persistence. "Hm, you must really hate me."

* * *

><p>Shizuo couldn't help but smirk slightly when he heard Izaya sound a bit out of it then he usually was. It has been a change of pace for him, with how Izaya was acting lately towards him. And he was still confused as to why Izaya had come up with such a bet in the first place. As much as Shizuo wanted to ask him though, he just couldn't find it in himself to. He felt something leap into his throat for some reason when he heard Izaya's voice on the other end of the phone though, and a slight rush of relief to know that he was alright.<p>

As strange as it sounded.

"Is that all there is for you to do now, sleep?"

He muttered under his breath after noting how the fleas' voice sounded. As shaky and tired sounding as it was, he could that it was because he had woken up from a nap or something of the sort. He coughed to clear away the thing in his throat after Izaya's comment and tried to keep a mono tone.

"Shut up flea. I'm just. Checking up on you."

He admitted truthfully. As weird and insane as it was, Shizuo had actually felt a small ping of worry when he hadn't heard from Izaya in hours... Because he was officially in the fate of his own hands, and if someone else got to him first...

But he quickly changed up the tone in his voice, hoping that his small ounce of concern wasn't noticeable.

"Knowing how you are, you'd do something stupid before I could even get the chance to kill you."

* * *

><p>Izaya continued to smirk as Shizuo spoke, though he had no idea in all honesty what the blonde was really talking about. Figuratively speaking, there was no way Izaya could get himself killed just because Shizuo wasn't around, was there? He always knew that people hated him... perhaps some were out to get him, but he had strong levels of protection, regarding who he was. He usually mind-fucked them in such a way that if they ever were to seek revenge it'd be putting both their own lives and those of whom were close to them - subsequently, in danger.<p>

"I think I can manage," he spoke, his smile fading as he stood up, glancing around his large and very empty apartment. "Are you calling to ask me on a date, Shizuo?" Izaya decided to leave the topic of his death out of this... it was ridiculous. He was beginning to feel fear that it would be Shizuo, because in such a short time he was learning to rely on the blonde, because his death was now the only thing set in stone.

* * *

><p>Shizuo could feel himself freeze in his mid-pacing when Izaya mentioned the word 'date'. In fact, the phone that he gripped so casually too almost slipped out of his hand when he heard that word. A small blush had unintentionally covered his cheeks and he had to cough to stop his voice from cracking. He didn't know why, but the thought of him and Izaya going on a date together, two former enemies, made his head hurt.<p>

It was all so confusing to the poor blonde!

"N-No! I wasn't!"

He quickly denied it as to make it seem like he was not caught off guard by the sudden question. Why would he even think about that! Shizuo had wondered. It was just a deal for him to be nice to the flea, but now it seemed like something much more than that.

Shizuo let out an irritated sigh for suddenly having these thoughts go through his head, since he really wasn't one to think so hard on something, especially if it involved the flea. He cleared his throat to get the thought of out his head and tried to sound as casual as possible.

"By the way... are you... staying at your place tonight?"

He mentally slapped himself for sounding so unsure if he should ask the question or not.

* * *

><p>Izaya couldn't help but scoff, Shizuo was quick to deny that... <em>too <em>quick. It wasn't suspicious, and he wasn't going to go ahead and waste time in thinking about it, but he did muse on the fact that perhaps he was a little embarrassed about that. Though, it was his turn to be a little confused when Shizuo asked him such a small but odd question. "Why? Did you -" Izaya stopped speaking. He didn't want to be annoying and ask if Shizuo had missed him, because... the sleep he'd gone through on his couch, though it was calming, and it was partially peaceful when he was so numb to reality... it was different now waking up in his apartment, because he felt empty, more empty than he had when he'd woken up in the morning at Shizuo's place, especially when he had woken up in the morning, though it'd been something facetious, it was comfortable and calming to him. Almost growling out loud and into the receiver of the phone for thinking of it that way, he heaved a sigh and glanced at his empty apartment. Where in the hell was Naomi anyway? Did she just think that because he wasn't there she got off free?

"W-what are you talking about Shizu-chan? You're stuck with me. This was just a break, but you can't get off that easily," he spoke; you could practically hear the smirk in his voice... but there was no smirk in real life. He was dead confused by now. He hung up the phone after that, quickly packed a few things together... in a small suitcase, though hell it was a suitcase, and out his apartment and down the lift, hopefully he could catch a lift in a taxi or something. It was cheap, but like hell he was being caught in public, with a suitcase.

* * *

><p>Shizuo grunted out a 'whatever' over the phone before Izaya was able to hang up on him. He didn't want the flea to get the last say, because then he would feel like Izaya would always be able to get the upper hand in everything that they did. Though when he did hear the dial tone from the other end and put his phone down, he had to take a step back and think for a minute about the conversation that they had. Even though he heard the smirk in his voice, he could have sworn that before the informant had almost tripped over his words when he first started to talk about to him.<p>

"Hmph."

He quickly shrugged it off and patted his pocket for his daily nicotine dosage, but was shocked when he realized that it wasn't in his pocket that he had placed it in when he was with Tom. He began to pat do feverishly over himself, looking and feeling very closely for his pack of 'babies'. But he couldn't find it; it was absolutely nowhere to be seen. He stopped for a moment and racked his hand through his blond locks and took a deep breath to try and stay calm.

"Damn it."

That had been his last pack for that day too, and there was no money in his pocket at the moment so that he could quickly run down to the store or a vending machine to see if they had any in stock. Wow, just his luck.

"And I'm going to have to be stuck with that damned flea for the night too."

How could the night get any worse? He let out another breath before plopping himself onto the couch to have time to relax from a stressful day at work. He had left the door unlocked for when Izaya did finally come, since he was too lazy to get up now that he had sat down and gotten comfortable.

* * *

><p>Izaya stared up at Shizuo's apartment building, he recalled exactly what number his room was, exactly what floor... not because he'd wanted to, and not because he took it down to his memory by will of mind. Thus he could most likely deem such a thing force of habit. To get out of pedestrian view, Izaya padded forward into the building, he didn't want to drag a suitcase behind him, but he didn't want to be stuck wearing any of Shizuo's clothes again.<p>

When he was past the lift, past the halls, just thinking to himself, about anything but what he was doing, he finally stood in front of the blonde's door. Now, there was the choice of whether to knock, or whether to push his way in. because, he doubted Shizuo locked the door to his apartment when he was inside. There was absolutely no need to, if anyone was to dare enter the apartment unauthorized, like Izaya was about to do, they'd be either, thrown out a window, something along the lines of comical brutality, that made up the person who stood on the other side of this door.

_Shizuo Heiwajima was fascinating, because the monsters in fairy tales were always the more interesting characters._

Izaya twisted the handle, and pushed open the door, letting himself inside. "Shizu-chan!" He called annoyingly.

Izaya remained standing at the door, as he repeated Shizuo's nickname over and over.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Surr~it's overdue again, but here it is! and more to come I'm trying to fit more in one post... 489375742652948576 chapters makes me feel less obliged to read something. QAQ<em>**


	26. Chapter 26

Shizuo sat there on his couch for a few minutes just thinking. Well, that and feeling slightly irritated that he would have to spend the night with the key of his hatred and he didn't have anything that would keep him calm for the hours. He rubbed his temple with a small sigh and sat there trying to think of a way to keep himself calm until the morning it, or until he could get to sleep.

"This is going to be one hell of a night."

That much, he could already tell.

It was already agitating him that he wouldn't have anything that could keep his head levelled, and he knew that Izaya never just gave him a break.

No, that would be really unlike him.

He flinched really badly, and he was absolutely positive that it was noticeable to Izaya when he heard the voice of the guy that he know would cause him so much trouble over the night.

Shizuo let out a growl as he tried to cover up his ears to block out the flea's voice.

"Shut up you damn flea! I'm right here on the couch, why are you screaming my name?"

He was pretty sure that his eye had started to twitch from being so annoyed as his fingers clenched and unclenched his fist to try and keep him from snapping to badly.

The last thing he wanted was to ruin his small house with his rage mode.

* * *

><p>Izaya stopped annoyingly repeating Shizuo's petty little nickname when the blonde cut in with, what he'd say was a rage for normal humans, was it not the fact that Shizuo's hatred towards him scaled this down to a 1.4 on the level Izaya recalled things by. In fact, Izaya's mental graph of 'Shizu-chan's anger points' held only three dots before absolute explosion. The informant stepped through the doorway, dragging his suit case behind him until he reached just a few (for safety precautions) meters if front of the couch. He often didn't mind getting 'too close' when he and another talked, because it made him feel condescending, in Shizuo's case even though the blonde was much taller, Izaya still grasped the upper hand with a card of wit, well-played and almost spontaneously devised. It was really just 'talk for luck', Izaya didn't want to tumble over his words, and he didn't want to make any mistakes for the cause of deeming himself stupid.<p>

"You're on my bed. Get off," he stated matter-of-factly, with a blank face, though his hold on the handle of the suitcase tightened. It was bitter-sweet nowadays to suffice Shizuo's reactions. "And I'm hungry. Can you cook, Shizuo? Because I can't. And going out with you in public is humiliating."

Shizuo could cook... couldn't he? He lived alone. No, Izaya couldn't cook. No, it wasn't humiliating going out with Shizuo in public to actually practice humane conversation with him. It was nerving.

* * *

><p>Shizuo felt himself about to sneer at how the flea had just walked in and was already starting to talk to him like Shizuo was the one forcing himself into his house. It was HIS couch, but it was also HIS small act of kindness, along with one of the need to finally get rid of Izaya in the first place, that put him in this certain situation though.<p>

Instead of letting all his anger flow from him like he usually did, he decided that he could try to control it enough so that he wouldn't go on his usual daily rampages. But that though quickly went down the drain when Izaya had started to demand things with a blank look on his face, and then insult him like he wouldn't do anything!

His face went from that of anger to one of a furious bull that had been teased and aggravated for way to long. Here he was being the kindest that he has ever been to the informant broker, hell!

It was the nicest that he had ever been to anyone in general besides Tom, and this was his thanks for the effort to put up with him? If anything, he should be sitting down like a good flea should and enjoy his last couple of days a live!

Shizuo had started to grip the arm rest of the chair tightly as he gritted his teeth by now, trying to keep his calm since he was in his own house and he didn't want to go breaking anything in there. He had truly forgotten how annoying the flea's voice could be when he wanted to annoy the crap out of someone.

"Just shut up and sit the hell down!"

He gritted out. He didn't have anything to make really, and he was really thinking of letting the skinny flea starve to death, but decided that it would be an alternate way to kill him later.

"I was going to order take out since I haven't gone to the store yet!"

* * *

><p>Izaya watched Shizuo's grip on the couch tighten, he watched that familiar face twist and straighten with his rage just in a petty attempt to keep calm, and he watched the blonde grit his teeth. It was almost too fun to watch Shizuo when he got like this, though for some reason when Shizuo ordered him into doing something to constrict at that moment, it made Izaya only half-heartedly snicker. For some reason, now he didn't want to be limited to as to what he could do, to what emotions he could show. But around Shizuo, he wasn't sure, conflicted as he was, whether at this point in time, he could show more or less emotion than he had. Should he try and stop himself from being as conspicuous and readable as anything other one of his oh so precious human beings? Or would it make more sense for Izaya to remain the same and die with dignity? It seemed that the latter way would still cause him misery, though he could take a gander that he was going to hell.<p>

The former informant narrowed his eyes, his mouth still twisted into the shape of a sneer as he shrugged. "Take away? Remind me again, if you eat that lousy food, why you're so - " Izaya paused, and for a moment, he just stared at Shizuo. What the fuck was he about to say? He was so... muscular? Well-developed, good looking? He almost gagged at the thought! Izaya dropped his suitcase and turned around, so his back was to Shizuo. Because for God's sake he hoped that the blonde was dim enough to excuse that, Izaya's face was beet-red. "Stupid. I guess you being stupid and dysfunctional is because of the bad food that you eat."

* * *

><p>If Shizuo didn't look that anger before, he surely did now. He didn't HAVE to feed the damned flea, that was nowhere in the deal that they made. The only thing he really had to do was act like they were friends, and if Izaya was going to act like a snobby prick of a friend, then he had the right to do what a friend would do and get mad at him.<p>

"You damn flea..."

It wasn't breaking the deal at all in his mind, it was playing the part.

This guy, he had no gratitude, Shizuo could see that clearly now. At first Shizuo thought that maybe being at least a little nice, though he knew that it was going to take every bone in his body to not pound the flea's face in, would change Izaya if not a little.

But obviously that was not going to happen.

So Shizuo had to bear through it until the time was over, and would finally but Izaya Orihara exactly where he belongs,

Six feet under.

Though for now he just wanted to blow off some steam before he exploded from the inside out.

"You're always running your mouth; you never know when to shut up!"

The grip on the couch had tightened to a point in which his finger had made dents in them. All senses were thrown out the window as Shizuo let out a war cry and gripped his couch tight as he stood up. Then he heaved it over his head and sent it launch at Izaya with as much force as he could.

"If you don't like how I live then go sleep at your own fucking place!"

* * *

><p>All that Izaya registered before he heard Shizuo's usual yelling and array of unintelligent insults was that he needed to get ready to duck. And so, went he realized that Shizuo had actually just launched a couch at him, he smirked smugly and crouched to the ground quickly letting the couch slam against the wall behind him, beside the kitchen, taking out plaster that was only going to make Shizuo's small apartment appear even dodgier. He stood up straight again right afterwards, surprisingly his heart was beating faster, but it wasn't out of surprise, Shizuo's fights with him always made him oddly excited. No, not in a sexual way, mind. He shoved his hands back into his pockets, heaving a sigh that came out still with his usual 'everything is a game' attitude, and Izaya turned to stare at the half broken wall, chunks gone and plaster falling; in nonchalance. "Well, that's great Shizu-chan, but... now where am I supposed to sleep?"<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry this took so long! My RP buddy just graduated so we should be able to write more and more :3<strong>_


	27. Chapter 27

_**Hello everyone~! I do apologize that we've taken yonks to update. These are the last two we've done in that time. Both of us are at the end of year 12 and have exams and such, so it's going to take a while and we really so apologize. But I swear that even if my interests change, we will finish this fanfic!**_

* * *

><p>Shizuo could feel something in his head snap, and he let out a very aggravated growl as he held it and lightly tugged on his blonde locks.<p>

Why, oh WHY, did he ask if Izaya was going to stay over his house while the deal for the week was just starting?

He could of just stood quiet and been happy about living in a small, quiet apartment. The only place Izaya wouldn't invade because the place wasn't to his liking.

He seemed to realize his mistake a bit too late now.

It hadn't even been 5 minutes and half of his wall for the crummy apartment was missing! Not even five minutes!

"Are you serious!?"

He grinded out through clenched teeth as he tried to calm himself as best as he could. As always, Izaya was able to annoying with smug and annoying comments that made him snap.

Sighing, he ruffled through his hair that he had just messed up not too long ago and pointed to the floor of where the couch use to be.

"Right there, isn't it obvious."

He turned away from the flea to look at the damage he had done to the crappy apartment and lit a cigarette.

Damn it, how was he going to explain this to the owner?

* * *

><p>Izaya blew a puff of air out of the corner of his mouth as he studied Shizuo, his reactions, his mannerisms... oh, he was deliciously predictable and yet tauntingly capricious. He stepped into the room properly, the mess surrounding him didn't exist as he jumped through it.<p>

Izaya landed his feet a meter or so away from the blonde, and then he stopped. Shizuo's words made him chuckle. And not a sarcastic one either. He was not sleeping on the floor.

No matter how much self-pity he bottled up, no matter how much dignity he'd lost in front of Shizuo; he wasn't going to give the brute the satisfaction of watching him fall asleep like an animal.

Said raven shook his head.

"No deal." He spoke monotonously, regarding the area around him as though he were interested in the mess as a subject of conversation for a brief moment, before with a sly grin he slipped past the tall male and into his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him, and locking it quickly.

Here. He'd sleep here. The fact that he had left his clothes in the prior room meant nothing. He was staying here and that was it.

"Thank you Shizuo~!" He called through the door.


End file.
